Another Door Closes xxx Sequel xxx PART TWO
by StephalewANDhugh
Summary: Sequel to When One Door Opens xxx The adventures of House, Wilson and Debra are over but continued in And Somewhere a Window Opens. This is House and Cam ship and the adventures they have with House's cousin, Debra.
1. Chapter 1

_**Welcome back, loyal and awesome-est readers. As promised, this is the sequeal to When One Door Opens.**_

_**For new readers, I HIGHLY suggest that you read that in order to follow along what has happened thus far.**_

_**This will not have any 'outside the box' scenes….it'll either be in PPTH, House's home/Wilson's hotel room/or possibly back in Michigan at his parents' house.**_

_**Hope you enjoy…………thanks Steph**_

**ANOTHER DOOR CLOSES**

**Sequel to When One Door Opens**

THE NEXT DAY…House sat by her bed in the wheelchair, just staring at her. Her skin was sallow, her eyes were sunken and dark, her breathing and heartbeat were steady, but at times irregular. The wires from the EKG were all over the side of her that led to her heart and she had an oxygen mask over her mouth. The doctors hadn't given her a high percentage to pull through; and neither had House. The only thing House was told was that the bullet had barely knicked the tip of her heart (only bruising it) and a few arteries leading to the heart were severed.

He'd been a doctor almost twenty years and seeing a patient in the ICU _never_ affected him like that. Then again, it never really happened to him before…oh, wait, yes, it had. But he didn't want to think about that now. He was worried sick over Debra, and had to ask her something.

After his own surgery, he had several dreams of hearing Debra's voice but she wasn't there physically. She was telling him something but he couldn't understand the words. And it was bugging the crap out of him, mainly because he couldn't explain why he was having the repetitive dream. House _always _analyzed his dreams because they'd come in handy more than once. But that one was driving him crazy.

"House, you should get back to your room," a voice came from behind him.

House was so deep in his thoughts he jumped a little. When he recognized it was Cuddy's voice he simply said, "No."

"Yeah, I didn't think you'd listen," she said, her voice soft and kind.

She put her hand on his shoulder to give him what little comfort she could. They were silent for a few minutes when Cuddy felt it was time.

"House, we need to talk," she told him.

"Ok, talk."

"No, not here. When was the last time you ate? Want to go to the…"

"I'm not hungry," he answered.

"But I'm buying – besides, you need to eat."

"Cuddy, I said _no!_" he snapped.

Cuddy was used to her head being bitten off by him, but the news she had would definitely cheer him up.

"House, please, it's about Debra."

That got his attention. He looked at her with interest and started to wheel himself out but Cuddy could tell he was hurting from the internal bleeding he had suffered at his ribs+, although he would recover fine. House felt the wheelchair become lighter to push when he realized Cuddy was pushing him and he let her. He sat back in the chair and put his head in his hand.

In the cafeteria, House sat at a table waiting for Cuddy to get his Reuben sandwich (dry, no pickle) and looked pathetic. His head was down at his chin and held the bottom of the pepper shaker and twisted it back and forth, trying to get some of the pepper to fall out. He finally got frustrated, tipped it over and dumped about a tablespoon onto the table.

Cuddy brought House out of his thoughts again when she set the two trays on the table and set House's in front of him.

"I think you're supposed to take a pinch of salt and throw it over your left shoulder."

House didn't respond to her. She sat down and took the cellophane off the chef salad.

"You're in luck. You got the last of the corned beef," she said happily, although maybe a big too happy.

Again he didn't say anything to her. Cuddy didn't think she'd ever seen House this down since a year after his surgery then about six months after Stacy left him. Thank god Wilson was there for him; she felt she didn't do enough for him while he was recuperating and trying to get his life back in order. In reality, he was still doing a little of that (according to others' opinions).

With the salt shaker, he tapped the top of it with a couple of fingers to see how hard he'd have to hit it for it to tip over. It only took two medium-sized taps then he put his hands back on his lap, not even reaching for the sandwich or chips on the tray.

Cuddy frowned when she noticed that and knew she'd have to tell him the news she had or there was no telling _what_ House would do, or say for that matter.

"House, I've got good news."

"Ok, what is it?" he asked, not extending eye contact.

"I found out Dr Thomlinson has a patient on life support; he's in a coma."

"Oh, too bad. I'll send the patient a _singing_ telegram."

"Would you just _stop _for a minute and let me explain?!" she said exasperatedly.

Without looking at her he raised his eyebrows as if irritated, and without moving his head, looked up with just his eyes for the first time since they'd sat down. He waved his hand out as if she were the queen (which she is…the Queen of PPTH!) and he was bowing to her. She couldn't help but crack a _little _smile.

"Thank you. Now, this patient was put on life support about 48 hours ago. And, his wife insists he be taken off. Both his parents are dead and there are no other relatives to argue for his case. Anyway, Dr. Thomlinson has already taken blood work from Debra and they match…."

"Wait, what? Why are you even _considering_ a heart transplant?" House asked suspiciously.

"Uh, Wilson and I discussed this and, um, well…" she started to say but Wilson came in and sat down in between the two.

"…We felt it best if you didn't know quite the _whole_ truth about Debra's condition," Wilson finished.

Instantly, House's face changed from confusion to anger. "What the _hell_ are you talking about? Oh, no, no. There _was _damage to her heart, wasn't there?"

Wilson and Cuddy were speechless for what felt to them hours then Wilson leaned in a bit over the table and spoke softly and delicately.

"Yes, House. The bullet didn't just _knick_ her heart. The bullet exited her back, but shrapnel lodged into the upper right quadrant of the heart. The doctor fixed the lacerated arteries but couldn't remove the shrapnel without risking death. Without a new heart, she won't last much longer."

House turned pale. He shifted his eyes from Wilson to Cuddy then back again, incredulous as to what he'd just heard. He wasn't angry over Debra's condition, he was angry that the two, the _two_ people that knew him better than anyone else in his life would actually _lie_ about something as serious as that. He looked at Cuddy once more.

"I can't…you two…_LIED_…" House mumbled, shaking his head.

"Just listen, will you? This is good…" Cuddy said.

"No, NO I won't! If I _did_ listen you'd probably just _lie _to me some more!!" House shouted, loudly enough that time to get the attention of half of the cafeteria.

House pushed the tray with his food on it halfway across the table and before Cuddy or Wilson could react and catch it, it crashed to the floor.

"House," Cuddy whispered.

"Stay away from me," he said.

He grabbed the wheels of the chair and pushed himself a few feet away. Both Wilson and Cuddy stood up and approached him.

"NO! I _said _stay the HELL away from me!"


	2. Chapter 2

_**OKAY!!! This is one of those ……… AWWWWWWWWW ………. Moments:o)**_

_**Enjoy Steph**_

**CHAPTER TWO**

House rolled back to his room, livid beyond belief. He had major tunnel vision and almost ran into Cameron's wheelchair that was sitting in between House's bed and the spare bed; she was sitting on his bed. At the end of the bed stood a man in suit and tie.

"House, you're back," Cameron said cheerfully. "This is Detective Ezzell. He wants to ask you what happened the other day."

"What if I don't want to?" House answered snottily.

"Dr. House, I know you've been through a lot but we have to piece together what happened," Det. Ezzell said.

House gave him a look of contempt. Det. Ezzell looked at Cameron as if asking her to have House co-operate. She gave him no help.

"If this is a bad time, I can come back later this afternoon," the detective offered.

"How's this? Why don't you come back like, later this _never,_" House said.

"House!"

"Dr. Cameron, it's fine," Det. Ezzell told her as he straightened and walked to House in the wheelchair. "Dr. House, you, your cousin and Dr. Cameron were the only ones in your apartment and I will eventually need to talk with you. It's better if…"

House let the detective talk, but he wasn't listening. He just stared at the wall and pretended it wasn't really happening, that he was actually asleep in his warm, cozy bed and was dreaming. Det. Ezzell handed House his business card, which ended up in the floor, then left.

Cameron sat up, grimaced a little as she did, got off the bed and leaned against it, her weight on her left leg. She didn't really know what to say to him at that point. She was there in his apartment when it all happened and she was the only witness to talk to the cops as of late. And she knew what Debra told House right before he passed out.

Actually, when she rationalized it, House had every reason to be as detached as he was, more detached than he normally was. But she didn't understand the anger in him at the moment. If he was worried over Debra he shouldn't have been angry; sad maybe, but not angry. She suddenly realized that Cuddy must have talked with him already.

"House, do you want to be alone?" she asked him.

"YES! And I want something for the pain!" he barked.

She reached behind her and pressed for the nurse on the remote. When the nurse answered, she asked for 10cc morphine.

When she arrived, it was none other than Nurse Brenda, aka criminal accomplice turned nice. But Brenda didn't say anything about what happened between her and Debra. She didn't want to. In the past, she has put up with House, stood up to House, understood House. And she also knew when not to talk to him, and this was one of those times. He threw his arm out, backside up, and waited impatiently for the shot without saying a word. Brenda left when he'd gotten the shot.

House brought his forearm up to control any bleeding from the shot that might happen when he seemed genuinely surprised she was there. It was almost as if she materialized out of nowhere.

"Are you _still _here? Get off my bed!"

She stepped aside and sat in her own wheelchair, saying not a word, and watched him get into the bed. He didn't even bother lifting the sheets; he just crossed his right leg over his left, crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes.

Cameron watched the whole scene, and knew she'd have to tread lightly with him. She didn't want him getting mad at her, too. It wasn't good for him, mentally or physically. But she was too tired, too drained. She hadn't slept much the past two days and she wanted to get into her own bed, well, the hospital's bed. She pushed the wheelchair towards the door when she heard her name. She stopped, but didn't look at him, remaining silent. She grinned, the upper right corner of her mouth rose.

She knew she had him.

"Stay?"

Without answering, she backed the wheelchair up to the bed beside his, locked the wheels and got into the bed. She lay on her left side, her head comfortably on the pillow, and stared House down.

Several minutes had passed in the silent room.

"Cam, did you know about Debra?" House asked, not opening her eyes or moving his head toward her.

"Uh-huh."

Softly, House asked, almost hurt, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because, she told me she thought it was best for you if you didn't know how bad it was until she was sure the surgery would happen. She wanted to be the one to tell you. She thought you'd be happy."

House tried to recall the rest of the conversation in the cafeteria but he couldn't. He was so pissed off at Cuddy and Wilson keeping Debra's condition hidden from him he never let Cuddy finish what she was going to say. But, from what he did remember before that, he knew what it was.

"The coma guy – is Debra going to get his heart?" he asked. By his speech she could tell the morphine was finally starting to kick in.

"Yes, House," she answered softly.

"When?"

"Once they get approval from the wife. Foreman and Chase are having her sign it right now."

"Okay. Wake me when the surgery starts?" he asked, a yawn sprang from his mouth.

"Okay."

It was quiet again and Cameron waited to hear if House had anything else to say, but he started to snore. She laughed under her breath. She heard then saw Wilson walk through the door. He looked at House, shook his head when he saw him asleep, then looked at her confused.

"What are you doing in here?"

"I had Cuddy move me in here."

"Ah. House let you stay in here with him?"

"He already knew I would, Wilson. He already knew I would."


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, here's a little I could type up for the night. There will only be one or two more chapters in the hospital then House goes home…and the fun stuff finally starts. I just don't' want to drag this on…as I feel that I am.**

**But, anyway, hope you enjoy. Steph**

**CHAPTER THREE**

Mid-day the next day, House had just spent about an hour talking to Det. Ezzell. It was difficult for him to remember the exact order of what happened but he did the best he could. Cameron confirmed that he did tell the story right.

They had a restful night of sleep, though, but House was pissed when the nurse woke him up for some blood work at 6 a.m. and then breakfast came. Cameron didn't wake him up for Debra's heart replacement surgery. But, considering how good he felt, he couldn't be angry at Cameron.

But he could still be mean to her. When he was done eating as much as he could, or wanted, he kept several pieces of cantaloupe and a few good sized strawberries - for missals, that is.

He elevated the head of the bed, turned as much as he could before pain tore through his side, and chucked a strawberry at her head.

Nothing.

He grabbed a cantaloupe piece and threw that at her head.

Again, nothing.

The third strawberry he threw finally hit her right smack on the tip of her nose, and she woke up with a start. She started to rub her nose and House threw his head back down on the pillow and pretended he was asleep.

Cameron would have _none _of his childish games. So, she threw a strawberry at him, too, and it landed right on his neck. It stuck there for a second then slid down to his shoulder. House didn't move or bat an eye.

She threw another strawberry at him, and it went completely off target. It landed…yep, you guessed it, right on his manhood.

"Oww..geez, woman!" he shouted and grabbed the strawberry, acting as if it were a football or something.

Then he laughed. And Cameron laughed.

Later that morning, Dr. Thomlinson had come in to talk to House about Debra, and he was fairly optimistic about her recovery. The surgery had gone well, and so far her body was accepting the new heart. Of course, it would be weeks before they knew if it were a fully successful recovery.

He was told he could see Debra mid afternoon, and now that the detective was gone he was completely exhausted.

And he hadn't seen Wilson since the day before; he'd seen Cuddy but only said two words to her. He was still angry, but knew it was only time before he'd be able to forgive them.

His injury wasn't severe, but it took its' toll on his body. He got himself comfortable in the bed, but unfortunately couldn't lie on his side – for one, he couldn't sleep on his right leg, and two, it killed his side to put any type of pressure on it. All he could do was turn his head a look at Cameron in her bed.

"When are you going home?" he asked. His voice was soft but she could tell there was some level of disappointment in it.

"They said I can leave tomorrow. Cuddy has kept me in here longer than I should have been. She just wanted to make sure there were no hidden complications."

House just nodded his head. He remembered a smidgen of the repetitive dream he'd had and it was still in the back of his head. He wanted to ask Debra so badly; it never dawned on him that Cameron was there with them.

HOUSE MD HOUSE MD HOUSE MD

"Deb…Debra! Wha're you sayin'?! I can't hear you!" House shouted, his words slurred with sleep.

"House, House, wake up! You're having a bad nightmare," a soft voice said as they gently shook his shoulder.

"Hu…wha…?" he mumbled, not opening his eyes yet.

"Are you okay? That was a bad one, huh? You're sweating," she said.

House finally forced his eyes open and he saw Cameron looking down at him, concern written on her face.

"Huh…oh, yeah, nightmare" was all he said.

Cameron grabbed a Kleenex from the tray and gently dried the sweat from his face.

"What time is it…and will you _stop_."

She didn't because she only has his chin to dry. The Kleenex was drenched with his sweat, and she was surprised at that.

"It's about 1:30, House," she said, throwing the Kleenex in the trash.

"Oh, I didn't sleep long, did I?" he said then his took in a deep breath through clenched teeth.

She looked at him confused. "No, House, it's 1:30 in the morning. You've slept almost 12 hours."

His eyebrows furled when he heard that; he was completely surprised.

"Oh."

"Do you need something for the pain?" she asked him as she shifted her weight.

"No, just you," he said softly, yawning.

She smiled at him and shook her head. "Oh, are you telling me I'm causing you pain?"

"Yes, I am."

"And _why_ would you even say that?"

"Because," he said, his eyes closed but a smirk on his lips. "you're not in the bed with me."


	4. Chapter 4

_**Thanks for all the reviews. At least I know I'm doing something right.**_

_**Ok, I know things are rough between H & Cam, but it'll pick up. Hope you enjoy. Steph**_

**CHAPTER FOUR**

Cameron grinned lightly but she didn't jump into the bed right away when House invited her to his bed.

"House, you have to talk to Wilson. He feels bad…"

"That's not really my problem, is it?" he answered coldly.

She shook her head at his pig-headedness. "Look, I know you're hurt by what he and Cuddy did but you can't stay mad at them forever."

House frowned and anger crossed his face. "I don't need a counselor, Cameron."

"Okay, okay. _Sorry_," she said angrily and limped back to her bed.

Cameron had worked with House for three years, and he never got any easier to understand. Sometimes she felt the need to make him realize how thoughtless or stupid he was being and tried to support him; other times she didn't have the strength. All she knew was she was relieved she was going home, because he was being a bstard going from being sweet as heII to nasty as heII.

When House woke up later that morning he was ready to go home himself. He had to check on Debra; no one was giving him too much information on her and he needed to see her. He didn't want to leave the hospital but he had to be with her.

And he also needed to talk to Cameron before she left to go home that day. He did feel bad after he snipped at her. He hated it when he did that, not often, but it happens. Talking before thinking has its' consequences that House has never quite picked up the knack for.

He sat up and looked at her bed but it was completely stripped and ready for new, clean sheets for the next patient. He called for the nurse and when she came in he was told she had already been discharged.

_Oh, great._

House had pi$$ed two friends and thrown away a good thing with Cameron, although there really hadn't been anything between them yet.

He _knew _he should have left her alone! He had to have been _crazy _to have asked her out. He sighed deeply and got out of bed, brushed his teeth, combed what little hair he had on the top of his head and ran his fingers over his too-stubbly chin. He hated when it got this long…shaving was always worse when it was.

He slipped on his robe and slippers and left the room to find Debra. He went two floors up to the I.C.U. He asked the nurse at the station which bed was hers and was directed to the bed at the end of a four-bed unit. The curtain was drawn around the bed.

He took a deep breath and pulled back the curtain, afraid to see what he'd find. But Debra was sleeping peacefully. He walked to the vital monitor and all her stats were normal. He was greatly relieved.

He walked to the other side of her bed, pulled up a chair and sat down, looking at her. But he really wasn't _thinking _about her. He was thinking of Cameron. He really _did _want to go out with her again, this time with them both understanding that they _are _damaged, and can maybe just be happy being damaged together.

"House?" came a male voice at the end of the bed.

He was so deep in thought he jumped a little and jerked his head to where the voice came from. It was Wilson.

House frowned, angrily at Wilson then turned his attention back to Debra.

"House, you've got to talk to me."

"No, I _don't_."

"Oh, come _on_! I was the one with the butt of the gun jammed into my temple…thanks for asking, by the way."

There was silence between the two men – Wilson didn't know what to say and House didn't want to say anything.

"Look, we've been mad at each other before. Why can't you understand why we did what we did?" Wilson finally spoke.

"Because they never involved someone I…" House started to say before he was interrupted.

"…ill eww two stap fi'ing? T'ying to seep 'ere."

House's eyes flew open and he leaned in closer so he could hear her clearly.

"Debra…hey, it's Greg," he said as he lightly touched her forearm. "How are you feeling?"

She smacked her lips a few times because her mouth was extremely dry. She couldn't open her eyes at first, but she struggled and finally forced them open.

"Not sure…" she mumbled, slowly coming around, her speech becoming clearer and more understandable. "Ask me in like a year."

House didn't know whether he should laugh or not, not knowing whether she was just joking or not. He caught motion out of his right eye and looked to see Wilson quietly sneak out of the room.

"House, don't fight with James and Lisa. _I _asked them not to tell you the whole story."

_James? Lisa? What?? When had she talked to…oh, of course._

House didn't know what to say. That never occurred to him. Now he felt like a complete idiot, about his friends and Cameron.

"It doesn't matter. We've fought before," House finally said.

"Is he…dead?" she asked, barely audible.

"Yes."

She nodded her head and closed her eyes. "Greg, I am sooo sorry I put and your friends in danger, really I am."

"Hey, no one was hurt…" He swallowed his words hard when he realized what he'd said. _No one was hurt but _you_ almost died._

"Mom and Daaa' arn't commming'" she whispered, her voice trailing off into sleep again.

House was flabbergasted. Her own parents weren't coming to see their only daughter as she lay in critical condition after a heart transplant? He laughed softly under his breath and shook his head. _Figures. That's a House for ya!_

"Get some sleep, ok? You have a lot of recovering to do, Missy!"

She nodded her head and was asleep in seconds.

His heart broke for her, and he couldn't find the words to make her feel better even if she were still awake. House wanted to go home and just hide in his apartment and not see anyone for a month. Why not? Cuddy had given him a month medical leave, and he could always call and check on Debra every day.

But she had no other family there in Jersey except him, and he couldn't let her feel abandoned. There were two things he had to take care of before he left the hospital that day: one, 'apologize' to Cuddy and Wilson for blowing up on them, and two, asking Wilson to keep an eye on her while she was in the hospital.

After she was discharged, he didn't know what he would do; she certainly wouldn't be in the best health to travel back to Michigan. But he had at least two weeks to worry about that.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

House had just gotten on the elevator for the third floor when he berated himself for forgetting to ask Debra what she told him before he past out. He hadn't had the dream in a day or so, even though he drifted in and out of sleep constantly, but the words never became any clearer.

He walked past the diagnosis room and tried to avoid looking in. Unfortunately, Foreman saw him and he was afraid he'd chase after him for a stupid question or something. Luckily, he didn't.

He approached Wilson's door, having his thoughts on what he was going to say all together, and walked in. Wilson looked up, put his pen on the papers he was reviewing and leaned back in his chair. House just stood at the front of the desk, staring at Wilson, both men silent.

"What?" Wilson finally asked.

"Um, sorry," House said, very unemotional.

But for Wilson, that was good. Emotional or not, a 'sorry' from Dr. Greg House was a major big deal.

"She told you, didn't she?"

"Yeah. Damn, Wilson! Why didn't you and Cuddy just _tell _me? I'm not a child."

"No, you're not. But she didn't do it to be spiteful. She feels really bad for what she put your through, and Cameron."

House collapsed into a chair. "I know, I know." It dawned on House suddenly that Debra had called Wilson and Cuddy by their first names. His right eye squinted and his head tilted a little, staring Wilson down. Suddenly, he wasn't sure if he wanted Wilson to watch over Debra.

"Why _did _you come to her room when I was there? Have you been talking to her?" House asked suspiciously.

_Oh, great. Something else for House to bLtch about. _Wilson thought

"I've seen her twice just to check on her. She was out both times. I guess Cuddy told her."

"That didn't answer my question."

"Because, I had to meet the person responsible for why I have two stitches in my temple, House, in case you haven't noticed. I was passed out in the car before I had to worry to death over you guys in your place with a madman!" Wilson shot back.

House was quiet for a second to get his thoughts together again. He was really trying hard to think before he spoke, but it sure caused him a lot of pain.

"So-ee 'bow yor stches," House whispered, his fingers flayed over his lips to slur his words.

"I'm sorry, what did you say? I didn't quite hear you," Wilson said, but he heard. He just had to bust House's balls.

"I said _sorry_, ok!"

Wilson smiled. "Ok, thanks."

The two men sat staring at each other, and Wilson was growing weary of House's true intentions of his visit.

"What do you really want, House?" Wilson finally asked.

"Um, a big favor," House said as he clasped his hands together.

"Yeah, I figured there was something. What?"

House asked Wilson to keep an eye on Debra while she was in the hospital, and maybe when she was released, just until she was able to make the trip home.

"Okay."

House's eyebrows rose when he got a straight-up answer – not bickering, bargaining, nothing. Just a yes.

"I said _watch_ her, not _sleep_ with her," House said then grinned.

"When are you going home? You need a ride?"

"Yeah, I'd appreciate that."

HOUSE MD HOUSE MD HOUSE MD

Two weeks had passed since both Cameron and House had gone to their perspective homes to recuperate. Cuddy would call on House during the day to tell him about Debra and how well she was doing. She told him if she continued, she'd be able to at least leave the hospital in a week.

Wilson would stop by after work with already made sandwiches or containers of food. Wilson put them in the refrigerator, and there they stayed, uneaten, night after night. On the third day, after non-stop bltching from Wilson, he finally learned to throw the untouched food in the trash.

He did call Debra to see how she was doing a few times, and did ask her what she said after she got shot and he came to her. She couldn't remember. She told him to give her some time; maybe she'd recall something of what she said.

But he never called to see how Cameron was, and she never called on him. Her brother had come to her place for a few days right after she was released, but he had gone back to work and only saw her on the weekends.

One night, Wilson came over with some Chinese food, Kung Pao for House and Sweet and Sour Chicken for himself. The two men sat in the living room and ate quietly while the t.v. showed the latest WWF match between Daddy MacDaddy and Trashy Arm Pit Dave.

Wilson noticed House was only picking at the chicken and ate just a few peanuts. He'd noticed House's face looked a little thin, but he shaved a bit less with not having to work, resulting in at least four days' hair growth.

"How's Cameron?" House finally asked, setting the box of rice on the coffee table and took a chug of beer with two Vicodin.

House hadn't mentioned her once and Wilson never offered any information about her. He checked on her himself, but he had to swear to her that he wouldn't tell House how she was. He just _hated _getting caught in the middle of things. First it was Debra, now Cameron.

"Why don't you call her?" Wilson asked.

"Uh, don't know her number."

"Liar."

"Look, I was real nasty to her early in the morning before she left and I don't think she'd want to talk to me if I _did_ call her," House finally admitted.

Of course Wilson already knew. And he was a very smart man; he always stayed out of every argument or disagreement between two people as long as he could. He'd only butt in when someone was about to get hurt.

"Do you want me to dial her number for you and hand you the phone?" Wilson offered.

"NO! I mean no." He caught his tone before it spoke too much and gave him away.

House wanted desperately to talk to her but he didn't know what to say. He knew he'd gone too far, especially after all she'd been through.

Wilson felt the tension in the room and wanted to change the subject. "Aren't you hungry? You didn't eat much," he asked concerned.

"No."

About an hour later, after Wilson left, House hit his liquor cabinet. He was so tired and emotionally drained and just didn't want to _deal _with anything or anyone anymore. He grabbed the bottle of Scotch, a glass and sat on the couch.

This was one way House knew to feel no pain, if only for a little while.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_**Ok, as promised, Cam is in the scene in the next chapter! I will post it shortly after this.**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Ok, as promised, another tender moment between House and Cam!! Enjoy! Steph**

**CHAPTER SIX**

"Hello?"

"Cu…Cammie?"

"House?! It's 3 o'clock…I just got…what's going on?" she asked when she realized he didn't sound himself.

He laughed loudly and then snorted, something he had only done when he was a kid and beyond being anxious over something. He finally got a grip on himself, somewhat.

"Noththth'n…I'm freakin' fannnntastic! Been drinkin' the past, uh, four hourzzz and I felin' gruuuu-ate!" He laughed again hysterically, but only he found it funny. "Hey! I'm Toneee the Tig…"

Cameron sat up in bed and turned the lamp on beside her bed. She hadn't been asleep anyway. Something about the tone of his voice scared her to death and, not the first time, but she was truly worried about him.

"House, I'll be over there in thirty minutes. Will you be alright 'til I get there?" Cameron had no idea why she was going over there, but at least if something happened to him she'd be there with him and could get help if she needed to.

"No, I don…I'vvve run outta Sctchchch, can you brinng hiccup a boddel?"

"No," she said sternly. "But I'm going to get dressed and come over. I'm getting a cab and I'm going to call you from my cell phone so we can talk 'til I get there, so answer it when it rings."

"loooazer…wait, you're nekkid?"

"Shut up, House! I'll call you in ten minutes!" she said, hung up the phone and hurried to change to meet the cab.

House aimed for the cradle of the phone but missed; it fell on the table, disconnected. He sat back on the couch cushion and took a deep breath, trying to get his control back. He stared at Steve McQueen running his wheel and it was making him dizzy then sick to his stomach. He closed his eyes but that made his head feel as if it would melt into the pillow and land on the floor.

He shot his eyes open and looked around the room, as if it were all alien to him. Then he saw it. It was sitting on the coffee table by the empty liqueur bottle, which he _had_ drunk on his own. The bullet.

He heard a knock on the door and was shocked she'd made it to his place so quickly. He stood up slowly but lost his balance and fell back on the couch.

"House, House! Answer me!" Cameron screamed, pounding on the door.

"Hold your horses."

His speech was still slurred but better than it had been. He got back up again, grabbed his cane and headed for the door. He opened it slowly and saw Cameron standing there in a sweatshirt and sweatpants.

"House! You didn't answer the phone!" she said urgently as she came in wobbling on crutches, dropped a bag by the couch and looked at the receiver, lying next to the cradle. "Oh."

She looked at House closely – the lines in his face, the dark bags under his eyes, his red, swollen lids. They were more than just a drunk man. Her eyes did a quick look down his body and noticed his t-shirt was looser than it should be and his jeans were baggy, which they'd never been before.

House sat back down on the couch and put his feet up on the coffee table. Cameron stood at the end of the couch and followed his motions then saw the bullet by his foot. She remembered what happened there, and knew of only one shot – the one that hit Debra.

"Found it in the wall in the hallway," he said quietly and sedate after he noticed her staring at it.

"When…never mind. It doesn't matter. House, what do you think you were doing getting this drunk?" Cameron finally asked, but she knew the real answer to that.

House shrugged his shoulders. "No' a 401K marathon, that fur shuur."

"When was the last time you ate anything?"

"Dunno…yessssday mornnnn…" he lied, not mentioning Wilson had been there earlier. But to be fair, he didn't really eat much.

At the sound of food, House's face changed and Cameron knew what that meant. He covered his mouth, his lips and cheeks puckered as if he were going to throw up. He had enough control to quickly limp into the bathroom and lose it in the toilet. He retched a few times and nothing came out but fluid. His arms were around the toilet in a hug and his face was right over it. He threw up again twice but they were just dry heaves.

After a few minutes of Cameron standing in the hall watching him, she went into the bathroom, grabbed a washcloth, ran cold water over it and held it until he stopped throwing up. She knew if she treated him like a baby it would only make him angry, and that was the last thing she wanted to do.

He finally stopped, wiped his mouth with his long-sleeve t-shirt, flushed the toilet and sat up a bit then looked up at her, but not into her eyes. The expression on his face tore into her heart, but she tried not to let surprise show. It was mixed with guilt, embarrassment, shame and about five other emotions. She never said a word but handed him the washcloth.

He took it, sat back and collapsed on his butt, still holding his stomach but managed to wipe his mouth and hands. His head hurt, he felt like his ribs had been removed from the crowbar to his ribs which hadn't completely healed. He didn't want much at the moment, but he knew he definitely wanted his bed.

"I'm…sorry," he said quietly.

Cameron extended her arm for him so she could help him up. With her in a cast and House with a bum thigh, the two looked quite the pair. Cameron couldn't help but laugh as she pulled him up; he just looked at her confused.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing."

He was heavier than she thought he'd be and his weight came at her fast, forcing her bum against the sink behind her with his hands on her upper arms. This time House looked into her eyes.

"Sorry," he said as he stepped away from her. "What were you laughing at?" he asked. With the liquor somewhat out of his body he had stopped slurring, but he was still drunk.

"It's just…you've heard 'a blind man helping a blind man?' We just did a 'cripple helping a cripple.'"

"Okay, that's not funny," he said seriously then laughed, but then grew serious again.

The two were still standing staring at each other and the tight quarters were making House very uncomfortable. "I need you to tell me something."

She frowned, not knowing what exactly he was talking about. "Okay, but you're getting in bed," she said.

He looked at her and grinned evilly and said as he walked out. "It's _that_ easy to get you into bed?"

"Shut up, House," Cameron said, but in a playful tone as she followed him. "You need sleep, for, like, 48 hours straight."

The two hobbled into his bedroom and he headed straight for his bed, flopped down perfectly on his pillow, face first, and his body perfectly situated on the bed.

"Hey?! What happennned to da lighs?" House asked then his body shook with his laughter.

Cameron laughed along with him for a moment then asked, "So, what did you need to know?"

He turned his head to the side to face her and put his head on his right elbow. He hesitated a moment before he said, "I nee' to know wha' Debr said."

"House, you should ask her that. I'm not sure what she meant."

"I din't aks you to tell meee what she meant. I aksed you wut she sod."

"She said, '"Talk to your dad. Don't let Uncle John die with you still mad at him; you'll … regret it. I will.'"

House looked at her confused. "Wha' the hell doesss…oh."

He closed his eyes and put the back of his hand on his forehead. So many thoughts were racing through his head he didn't know what to say. He felt her hand rub his arm and it comforted him, in a way he couldn't explain.

He felt the covers move under his legs and it tickled slightly, but he didn't react as the soft 600 ct sheets covered him to his chest. He put his hand down to his side and melted into his bed. He looked at Cameron but didn't say anything.

"Get some sleep, House. I'm not going anywhere," she told him, her voice soft and reassuring.

"Thanks," he whispered and was soon asleep.

She looked at him as he dozed to sleep. She loved it when he was vulnerable, and sweet. There were good qualities about the man she admired, yet there were others that she detested. She figured that was why she was so attracted to him.

She turned to walk out, still on crutches, and heard him say, "Cam..'m sorry."


	7. Chapter 7

_**OOOPS! I FOUND A BOO-BOO! When I was relaying the story of Wilson visiting House, it was NOT the same night Cameron came over! So, indeed, House hadn't really eaten anything solid in days.**_

_**And it was NOT a dream…as you will find in this chapter. And yes, what Debra told House will be covered, but way later in the story. I have more planned for House and Cam :o) Steph**_

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

House woke up the next morning with a severe, pounding headache. He lay in bed for a minute and rubbed his temples, hoping that would ease the headache away. It didn't. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at the window; the curtains were drawn and barely any light was shining through.

Beside the window was the nightstand, and there on it was a full glass of water, but it wasn't clear – he didn't know what it was – and two pills beside the glass. He recognized the shape and color of them, and knew they were his Vicodin. The clock beside them read 10:45 a.m.

Every morning he had always woken up and immediately taken the painkillers without even _thinking_ about it, like he was still half asleep. But this time he did. Although his head was hurting like hell, his stomach muscles were sore from vomiting and an empty stomach, his right thigh wasn't hurting _all _that badly. He attributed it to the fact that his head was feeling worse than his thigh and his brain just hadn't registered it yet.

He finally decided he didn't care and just as he reached for the pills he heard the t.v. on in the living room. He hadn't remembered leaving it on the night before, but, then again, he _was _drunk so he could have.

The sudden urge to pee overtook his desire for the pills, and he stood slowly to check out the pain first, and again, it wasn't too bad. He reached for his cane anyway, just in case he needed it on the way to the bathroom. After he flushed the toilet he looked in the mirror and noticed he was wearing a shirt he didn't particularly like, and on his hips were a pair of shorts he hadn't worn in almost ten years.

_What the…_

"Mornin'!" hollered a female voice from the living room.

He didn't recognize the voice at first.

"Coffee is still hot."

_Cameron?_

Butterflies exploded in his stomach – not literally, I mean, that would be a pretty ugly site, wouldn't it?

He slowly walked out into the hall toward the living room and peaked around the corner. Cameron was indeed sitting on his couch, with her leg propped up on the coffee table, watching the Travel Channel with Samantha Brown, who was currently checking out the sites and hotels in London, and hugging a pillow.

Only when House took a few more steps into the room did he smell the coffee in the air, and trudged off into the kitchen for a huge cup, not saying a word to Cameron. He came back into the room, looked at her then sat down next to her.

"Did you drink my headache remedy concoction by the bed?" she asked, still staring at the t.v.

"No." _Oh, is _that_ what that was._

"Oh, ok."

She didn't say anything else to him – they just sat watching the show. He sipped his coffee until it was half full and turned to look at her again.

"Uh, Cameron? How did I get into these clothes?" he asked apprehensively.

She turned to return his glance. "You were having another nightmare and hollering out. I went in to check on you and noticed you were _stinking _to high heaven. You woke up then and I thought you were still with me. I grabbed the clothes from your drawers and a wet washcloth and put them beside you, thinking you'd clean and change yourself. I came back thirty minutes later and you had passed out again."

He didn't divert his eyes at all while she was telling him. "Okay, _and_?"

"_I_ cleaned and changed you, House. Get over it! I'm a doctor. I see naked people all day," she answered, her voice a little angry, but she really wasn't. She knew she'd get that reaction from him when he realized what she'd done.

HOURS EARLIER…

Cameron had gone in to check on him and he was soundly asleep. She called his name a few times and even shook him to no avail. He was dead to the world.

She sat down on the bed beside him (her right, casted leg straight beside him) and leaned toward him, pulling his puke-stained, stinking t-shirt up as far as it would come in the back. Sighing heavily, she grabbed the back of his shoulders and pulled him toward her. He was a wet doll to her at first, but he fell right into her arms, his head resting on her shoulder.

She pulled the shirt up over his arms and head and reached down to the top of his shorts, pushing them down over his hips as far as they would go. She lay him back down and slid the shorts down the rest of his hips, down his thighs, legs then over his feet.

She got the washcloth and ran it over his chest to get some of the vomit residue off. The next thing she knew she was cleaning off his waist then back up to his chest again. She stared at the in-shape muscles of his upper body mindlessly.

Okay, Cameron is a woman, and every woman will tell you that any man she is attracted to will do whatever she can to check out a man's manhood. And House was no exception. Her eyes scanned down to his waist, belly button, hips, and she smiled when she saw how big he really was.

He shivered in his sleep and she knew she had to get him dressed and covered again quickly.

It took her another ten minutes to get his clean t-shirt and shorts on, without him stirring at all. Then she saw it, really _looked _at his leg. His entire thigh muscle was gone, leaving a gash about three inches deep from his upper thigh to right above his knee. She could never see the huge scar through his pants and it struck her deeply just how big it really was.

She looked into his face, saw that he was still out and ran her middle finger softly over the scar. It felt to her like a world globe, with all the mountains jetting up and down, but soft, not rough like a globe would be.

He stirred in his sleep, mumbled something, then went back to sleep. It scared her enough to stop and finally covered him, regretfully going back into the living room. Needless to say, it was another hour before she could go back to sleep for thinking of his naked body.

"I hate what you chose," he finally said, the tension between them started to build and he grew increasingly uncomfortable; words escaped his thoughts to get out of it.

"Hey, they were in _your_ drawers," she said, with a little grin.

"Then I'll have to throw them out, now, won't I?" he said, returning her grin.

"You hungry?" she asked. "I see you have lots in there. I didn't think you cooked."

Actually, House was starving, and he was willing to eat _anything_ that Cameron put in front of him – well, except a cold Reuben with mayonnaise and a pickle.

"No, I don't. They're from my personal chef," he answered back.

"Oh, Wilson?" Cameron asked as she stood, grabbed the crutches against the couch and looked down at him.

House smiled widely at her. "Yes, Wilson."


	8. Chapter 8

_Okay, here comes a little twist to the story, but it'll bring House and Cam closer. This is what I had in mind from day one – ok, day three – but I think it's good. Hope you enjoy and thanks, everyone, for your awesome posts…I am really glad you are liking it. Steph_

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

A week had passed since Cameron stayed the day with House after he'd emptied a bottle of Scotch on his own. Debra was getting out of the hospital the next day, and House was relieved that she was doing better. He'd felt bad for not being there for her as much as he wanted, but it was a little uncomfortable for him to talk with her, especially after what happened with Jerry. He was always afraid he'd say the wrong thing, but of course he knew that was a lame excuse.

He actually wanted the time alone to think about his feelings concerning Cameron. And decide what to do, and to say, to her.

But between House and Cameron, nothing had happened between them, beyond being chummy, but House definitely felt differently toward her, yet he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

He loved her being there, though. They talked a lot, fought over the remote and she made them something to eat, although he had to carry the plates into the kitchen for her. He actually ate all of it, and he was completely famished. But, with Cameron being there with him, that gave him the incentive to want to eat and get healthy and back to work, so he could be there for _her. _

They had their quiet moments, of course, either from talking too much, or just a needed silence between them. It was by no means uncomfortable for either of them.

And after they ate dinner, this time House prepared it (okay, he heated the dishes in the microwave), Cameron fell asleep on his shoulder. And he didn't even wake her up. He'd actually fallen asleep too, their heads against the other, both under the same huge blanket, but their bodies didn't touch, just their heads.

It wasn't until the next day, early morning, when he woke up alone and discovered that Cameron had gone. She left without waking him up and saying goodbye. That pissed him off, really angered him. He felt abandoned, unloved, unwanted.

He got up to use the bathroom, pooped two vicodin and noticed a note taped on the mirror over the sink.

House, had dr's appt. Couldn't bare 2 wake u. Will b back noon. Will check on Debra 2 c wat time she's getting out 2morrow. Will pop n on Wilson 2 make sure he gets a room 4 her his hotel. Don't worry…Cam

House took a deep breath and was instantly relieved that she'd be coming come back. But he hated the 2 and c and stuff…so high school! But still, he couldn't help but smile.

When Cameron came back he had fallen asleep on the couch, and she again couldn't wake him up. She knew he needed sleep and let him be. She went into his bedroom and got into his bed, thinking until she fell asleep.

_He's really going to hate me for leaving, but I'm not getting any good rest, and I won't be able to have a real relationship with him (if he still wants it) until I get out of this stupid cast! It'll work out, Allie, it'll work out._

Later that afternoon, after House had woken up and Cameron made him something to eat she told him she was going home. Her brother would be back for the weekend to be with her and she'd be fine. Again, House was livid.

He screamed at her that she was running away, 'just when I was getting used to you'… and every mean thing he could think of to say.

HOUSE MD HOUSE MD HOUSE MD

The next day, Wilson took Debra home a little after noon, with well wishes from Cuddy, Foreman and Chase. Since House had been home, they'd take turns visiting her since she had no family, other than House, and he didn't even bother to visit her.

But Wilson was there every day, several times a day. He'd bring her magazines, books, anything to keep her mind off her worries. He even brought her a Wendy's frosty, which she devoured in two minutes, swore to Wilson she'd never tell anyone so he wouldn't get in trouble then had to suffer through an incredible headache from drinking it too fast.

And, one day the week before, he'd gone clothes shopping for her. He sneaked around and found out what size she wore. He then bought her two pair of loose fitting pants, one step away from sweats, several sweaters, two long night shirts, slippers, socks, but left the underwear and bra for Cuddy to get.

Wilson had grown quite attached to Debra over the past several weeks but never let his feelings show. He did it all as a favor for his best friend, and he wouldn't jeopardize their friendship in such a calculated, cold manner.

He was grateful his room was an adjoining room, and it became available the day before. He did it solely for the purpose of being within hearing range in case she needed help. Or, did he?

But that first night was very difficult for her. After Wilson surprised her with the new clothes, and blushed with the under-clothes, she'd hung them up and sat on the bed, thanking Wilson up and down for the clothes.

"I can't believe you did that!" Debra fussed. She had already changed into one outfit that morning.

Wilson shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal. "Ah, it's a favor for…oh…"

"Don't worry, Jim." She called him Jim. She just hated using formal names with people. "I know Greg asked you to keep an eye on me. And I appreciate it, really, especially for that scar you'll have."

It was Wilson's turn to blush but he tried to hide his face, unsuccessfully.

"Well, I'm really tired and need to rest a bit. Want to order a pizza later?" she asked.

"Yeah, that sounds great."

"Ok, but NO anchovies!"

Wilson laughed. "No problem there."

They stared at each other silently, waiting for the other to say something. The tension in the room was a bit thick between them, but neither one of them had a _clue _about how the other felt.

"Ok, well," she said.

Debra stood and pulled back the covers on the bed, though when she lay down she was on top of them. Wilson turned and walked through the doors, and just as he was about to close the door she called out for him. He stopped and turned.

"Can you keep the door open, please?"

"I don't want the t.v. to bother you," he said.

"Oh, don't worry. I took a pain pill before I left the hospital and trust me, I won't hear a thing."

Wilson nodded and smiled, albeit a bit uncomfortably. "Ok, sleep well."

"Thanks…see you later."

As he walked through the door he berated himself for sounding like such a fool.

But back in Debra's room, she thought the complete opposite. She thought he was sweet. But there was no way she'd jeopardize the relationship with her and House. Not family, they wouldn't do that. Moments later she was asleep.

As Wilson sat on his bed and watched the 4:00 news, he thought he heard whimpering in the other room. He picked up the remote and pushed the 'mute' button. Sure enough, it was Debra and she was whimpering in her sleep.

He got up and stood at the door between the rooms and watched her. Her head was tossing back and forth and her hands were jerking wildly, her feet kicked at the covers at her feet, which were dangling over the foot of the bed.

He noticed sweat glistening from her forehead and slowly and carefully approached her bed, softly calling her name so as not to startle her from her nightmare.

"…Greg…Jer…no!" she whined.

Wilson finally sat down on the bed next to her and shook her from her shoulders. She continued to cry out and tears fell from her eyes before her eyes flew open and she tried to focus on Wilson.

"Debra…shhh, it's okay. It was just…" he started to say but she started to cry even harder and clutched at him.

He had no choice but to hold her and let her cry. She was inconsolable for over five minutes. After about another five minutes he thought she was done, but she sobbed again. Wilson started to rock her back and forth and run his fingers over her hair to comfort her.

It was only minutes later that she finally calmed down enough to take occasional sniffs and tried to stop the afer-cry-hiccups. She finally broke herself away from him and wiped her nose on her sleeve, then realized what she'd done.

"Oh…I'm sorry, Jim…these were new…you bought…"

"Debra, don't worry about that. They can be washed," he said tenderly.

She looked at his shoulder, the one she'd been crying on and seemed to start to cry again.

"Snawt…shirt…I…sorry."

Wilson reassured her that it was fine, that his shirt could be washed, too. Debra suddenly broke out in a laugh-cry, which Wilson found quite endearing. He knew she'd be fine.

"Why don't you lie back down. You only slept two hours," he said.

"No…I can't now…not after…when is Greg coming? Is he mad at me?" she asked, going from one subject to another.

"No, of course not," he answered. He really had _no _clue why he never did. "Make a deal with you. You go back to sleep for at _least _four hours, and I'll call him tonight and ask him to come over tomorrow. How's that?"

She suddenly hiccupped and broke out in a full laugh. "Oh, god, I'm a mess," she said, wiping her face of her tears and wiping them on the sheets of the bed. "Fine, deal."

She lay back down and closed her eyes and surprisingly to Wilson, was asleep in two seconds. He smiled lovingly at her…the kicked himself for doing it.

_Behave yourself, James!_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_Okay, I have to get the rest of this chapter out of my head tonight, so I'll finish it before I go to bed. Don't go to bed yourselves until you read it! lol Thanks _


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER NINE**

Back at House's apartment, he had been playing his piano for the past hour, non-stop. His fingers pounded at the keys out of frustration, anger, whatever else emotion he had, taking it all out on the keys. He hit the last note of the tune he was playing and threw his hands on the top, hung his head and cursed. Beside his hand was his bottle of vicodin, which had shook with the strength of his fists. He reached out, poured three into his palm and downed them dry. He hoped the 15mg would make him numb, numb to his pain, anger, everything else he was feeling at the moment.

A few seconds later the phone rang. He wanted to ignore it, but when the answering machine came on and he heard Wilson's voice, he hurried to the phone to talk to him, thinking it might be Wilson with news on Debra getting situated in the room.

"Hey, House," Wilson said when he heard the phone being picked up.

"How's Debra?" House asked, not bothering to ask how Wilson was.

"She's fine, she's sleeping. Look, she wants you to come over tomorrow. Do you think you could find it in your _busy_ schedule to come see your cousin?" he said snottily.

House frowned and pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at it, wondering why the hell Wilson had such the attitude. "Yeah, fine. What time?"

"Whenever you can make it, 'bout noon? Think it'd be nice if she got out. Maybe take her to lunch?"

"Sure, sounds good."

"House?" Wilson asked. "Debra thinks you are mad at her." Wilson hesitated a moment. "Are you?"

House took a deep breath and closed his eyes, his stomach doing somersaults. "No, no, of course not. Oh, man," he said regretfully.

House didn't have the courage to tell Wilson about what happened between him and Cameron.

"I'll talk to her tomorrow, ok?" House suggested.

"Okay, fine. Don't let her down," Wilson said then hung up the phone.

House fell on the couch and buried his face in his hands, throwing his head back and cursing into them. He suddenly felt like the worst man in the world, and he _had_ been more than once in his life.

He needed to talk to someone, and badly. He didn't know who to call. Then it came to him. He picked up the phone and dialed a number.

'You've reached Allison Cameron. I'm away from the phone but leave a message and I'll call you back, unless you are Dr Gregory House.' Beeep

"Cameron, it _is _Gregory House and I _need _to talk to you." She didn't pick up. "Come _on_, I know you're there! You're a cripple, temporarily anyway, you can't _go _anywhere!"

Still there was no pick up.

He slammed the phone down and sat down heavily on the couch again. He was getting _so_ tired of this going back and forth with her! _Hated _it! He couldn't find it in him to tell her straight up how he felt; there was no way in heII.

He looked over at the liquor cabinet to check out his stock and he only had vodka. Vodka alone never got him drunk, but with the 15mg of vicodin, it would sure make him feel a lot better.

HOUSE MD HOUSE MD HOUSE MD

Over at Cameron's apartment, she was sitting with her brother, Jack, watching the Friday night movie when she heard the answering machine and listened to House's message as he talked.

"That's your boss! Why didn't you answer it when you heard his voice?" Jack asked.

"Because it's Friday night, and I don't feel like going into work," she lied.

She stuffed her mouth with a heaping spoonful of Ben and Jerry's Chunkey Monkey.

HOUSE MD HOUSE MD HOUSE MD

Over in Debra's hotel room, she finally woke up to a dark room, no light outside the window and only the flashing lights of the t.v. from Wilson's room. She slowly sat up, rubbed her eyes, yawned then got out of bed.

She was surprised at how tired she was as she scooted herself into the bathroom. She certainly hadn't expected her body to be so weak, but she _was _only human. She flushed the toilet and looked in the mirror. She would have screamed if she thought Wilson was awake, but she wasn't sure so she though against it.

She laughed quietly to herself, combed her hair and put it in a pony tail. She panicked for a second thinking she had on her night shirt, but looked down to see she was still wearing her street clothes. She chuckled under her breath at how such a _girl_ she was acting, and feeling.

She got the courage to walk into Wilson's room, finally, and saw him asleep on the bed, his head against the back of the headboard, under pillows with a little bit of drool out of the corner of his mouth.

She noticed the clock radio on the nightstand and saw it was 10:30 pm. She couldn't believe how late it was. Then the smell of pizza waifed into her nostrils and turned her head to where it was coming from. She noticed the closed pizza container sitting on the small table with two chairs set by the window. Next to the pizza was a three-quarters full liter of Coke by a bucket of ice with an empty plastic cup. Her stomach screamed at her to stuff it into her mouth.

She hurried over to the table and attacked the box, grabbed a piece and shoved it in her mouth, chewing as fast as she could. A piece of pepperoni slipped off the pizza but she caught it, shoved it in her mouth and took another bite.

"I'd eat that slow if I were you. It'll give you…"

At Wilson's voice she jumped, causing the slice to slip out of her hand and fall to the carpet. She turned around so quickly she started to choke on the food she still had in her mouth.

Wilson quickly got off the bed and ran to her, but by the time he got there she'd gotten her composure and hit her collarbone to loosen what little left there was in her mouth. Her face grimaced in pain because she'd hit the tip of her scar but put her hand out to indicate she was okay.

"…indigestion, or choke to death," Wilson finished.

He put some ice from the bucket, which was almost empty, into the cup and poured some Coke into it, handing it to her. She slowly drank it and finally caught her breath.

She started to laugh. "I feel like _such _a moron."

"Oh, don't be…I mean feel like that. It's fine. Funny, actually," he said and smirked at her.

"Thanks, 'preciate your kindness," she answered then sat down at the table. "Why didn't you wake me?"

Wilson sat down at the table next to her and poured himself a glass of coke. "Because you need sleep, lots of it," he told her.

"Ah, okay."

She finished off two other pieces and finished off three glasses of Coke, granted they were small, and that was a lot for her first 'real meal.'

"I called How…Greg," he told her as she wiped her fingers.

"So?" she said coldly.

He frowned at her because he didn't think it would bother her that House hadn't kept in touch with her.

"Debra, look. I don't know if you know about Cameron but he's still dealing with how he feels…"

"That's not really my problem," she snipped. "Look, when I stayed with them one summer Greg caught a real bad summer cold and was in bed for three days. I brought him peppermint candy, magazines, comic books, anything I could think of to make him feel better. I even bought him a little teddy bear out of my allowance. It cost three weeks' worth! And there I lay in the hospital after a heart transplant and he didn't have the _balls_ to come visit me?!"

Wilson could only nod his head because he knew exactly what she was feeling. And it was justified. He had to change the subject awful quick before she'd get herself worked up too much and raise her blood pressure, which would send her into cardiac arrest in her unstable condition.

"Are you done eating?" he asked.

She closed her eyes and threw herself against the back of the chair. "Yeah, sorry, god, I'm such an idiot. Thanks…thanks for the pizza. You don't have to do all this for me, Jim."

"Hey, I don't mind, really," he answered as he stood up. "Come on, Medical Stories is coming on and I've missed the past two months' worth. Watch it with me?"

She smiled at him and as he walked to the bed she pulled the chair over beside the bed to face the t.v. Wilson turned and looked at her funny; he thought she'd stay on the bed with him because she'd be more comfortable.

_James, you're such an idiot! _He thought to himself as he sat down on the bed, his back against the headboard.

Debra noticed his look of trepidation and said, "I'll be more comfortable here." She sat down and waited for the show to come on. Several minutes passed and she remembered the night shirt he bought her. "I'll be right back."

She went into her bathroom, brushed her teeth, took her medication, including two pain pills, pulled out the night shirt and checked to make sure it was long enough and didn't show too much of anything then put it on. She came back into Wilson's room and sat back down in the chair.

"Nice fit, Jim," she said with a smile.

Wilson watched her the whole way and she took his breath away. The v-neck of the night shirt covered just the tip of the scar, and just a smidgeon of the top of her breast, and the bottom fell just below her knee. That was the first time he ever noticed how blue her eyes were; the nightshirt was a navy blue, and it made her eyes pop even more.

"Do you want a pillow?" he asked, after his heart stopped pounding in his chest.

"Yeah, sure, that'd be great."

He handed it to her and she held onto it, one end resting under her chin. The show came on and they watched the first 15 minutes of it before the commercial came on.

"Debra, you and House are so diff…"

When he turned to look at her her head was slumped to one side in a very uncomfortable position, sure to make any neck crack. He scooted over to her and called her name quietly. She jerked her head up, woke up fully then groaned at the crick in her neck, rubbing it hard.

"You should go to bed, Debra."

"No, no, I'm…well, does that offer still stand to share the bed? Just for the show?" she added at the last second with a sly grin on her face.

_Lose the grin, moron!_

"Of course," Wilson said, but his voice squeaked.

She crawled on the bed and he helped her position the pillow against the headboard beside him. The show came back on and they started to watch it again.

"She's got cellulitis, you idiot doctor!" Wilson screamed at the t.v.

He felt the bed shake when he realized he'd woken her up again.

"Debra, seriously, you need to go to bed."

She turned to him, sadness in her eyes and said, "I don't want to dream again."

At first he didn't know what she meant but then her nightmare clicked into his brain. He debated with himself for what seemed like forever before he said, "You can sleep here. I'll sleep under the blanket and you get the sheets. How does that sound?"

_Oh, god…you did _NOT _just invite her to share the bed, did you???_

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**_Ok, now the good stuff starts!!!!! And I don't mean in a "M" rating by any means! That's not what this story is about._**

**_I still cannot go to bed without finishing where I want to leave it for a day or two. It's 1:20 am and I have to go to work in six hours. Uggh, I'm an idiot._**


	10. Chapter 10

_**Hi, all! Glad you are still hanging in there with me! Thanks again for the posts and I hope don't disappoint. This is the chapter I wanted to get out of my system, but worked on another chapter. Now that I have the last chapter, I need to fill in the blanks. Hope you like! Steph**_

**CHAPTER TEN**

House was flying pretty high by now, with the vicodin and vodka in his system he was sufficiently numb throughout his entire body. Wilson had every right to be angry with House for his reluctance not to visit Debra when she was recouping from surgery, and so did Debra. He knew she felt horribly guilty for all that happened and House never told her that it was okay and not to worry about it.

He just felt his chance with Cameron was slowly creeping away and he was now mad at himself for not talking with her about how he felt. But he decided to do just that, and he'd invite her over on Sunday for dinner. He just hoped she'd come to her senses and at least try to understand where he was coming from.

But, first he had to see his cousin. He didn't even bother looking at the clock to see what time it was. He went into his bedroom and fished around for something in the closet that Debra had given him a long time ago. It was her turn now, and she needed it more than he did. He put it in a small plastic bag, grabbed the key to his bike and headed off to the hotel.

When he arrived there, he went to the clerk and asked for Debra House's room. The clerk looked in the computer but didn't offer the room number. He insisted he had to call first to protect their guests. As the clerk dialed the number and waited for a response, House stared at him impatiently. After several minutes he replaced the phone in the cradle.

"I'm sorry, sir, there seems to be no answer."

"It's ok, I have another friend here," House said as he walked away and headed for the elevator, the clerk hollering out for him the whole way.

After he got off the elevator he walked down the hall toward Wilson's room, a smile on his face. He knew she'd be surprised what he had for her, after all, she hadn't seen it in, what, over thirty years? He approached the door, took it out of the bag and stuck it in front of the peephole then knocked several times. Three loud knocks later, Wilson finally came to the door and opened it, whispering that Debra had just fallen asleep and they needed to be quiet then stepped aside and let House in.

House walked in and looked at the open door between the two rooms, with no Debra sleeping in the bed. He frowned and looked at Wilson confused. Then he saw something move under the covers on his bed but he recognized the color of her hair. His eyes burned with anger, betrayal…he was fuming inside.

"Why is _she_ in _your_ bed?" House asked, with his voice louder than Wilson wanted it to be.

"House, shhh! Come on, we'll talk in her room."

The two men walked to the adjoining room but not before House had a better chance to see Debra and what she was wearing. While the nightshirt was covering her safely while she was sitting or standing, the material had slipped over her shoulder a little bit, exposing more of her breast than he wanted Wilson to see.

Wilson quickly explained to House about the room, her nightmare and how she ended up sleeping in his bed, his best _friend's_ bed. House was livid and spewed out every untrue and vicious digs at him, his face growing redder with anger every second.

"House, hold on! How in the _hell_ would you think I'd even _do_ such a thing to a friend?" Wilson shouted back.

"That didn't stop me from being with…" House realized what he'd just said and took a deep breath.

"And yeah, I know about you and Julie. But, I was with someone else, too, so, no big deal. But I am not _you_, House! I wouldn't do that to a friend."

House shook his head and was speechless for a second; he thought they'd been careful back then and he didn't know. But that didn't matter. Debra was his cousin, family, and Wilson took advantage of her. Even in House's book that was unforgivable. He took a step closer to Wilson, but Wilson didn't step back away from him. House's arm came up so quickly Wilson didn't have time to react.

Just then a voice in the doorway called out, "What the hell is going on…NO! Greg! Don't!"

It was too late. The cane flew into the air his fist met Wilson's chin, his head turned sharply to the right and he went flying back onto the end of the bed. Wilson sat up halfway and looked at House as he rubbed his chin then wiped the blood from the left corner of his mouth. House just stood there, dumfounded that he actually hit his best friend. Debra rushed to Wilson and sat down next to him, checking out his mouth and make sure her cousin hadn't done too much damage.

"Greg, what were you _thinking?!_" she asked then realized she was in her nightshirt and knew what House thought. "Oh, god, no! Nothing happened between us! I fell asleep during Medical Mysteries," she insisted, exactly what Wilson tried to convince House of only minutes earlier.

House's eyes tore into Wilson's face. "I…I don't believe you," he said.

"Greg, go home," Debra told him as she wet her thumb and wiped more blood that had trickled down his chin from where Wilson bit his lip.

"No! When did you two…at the hospital, ah, right, that's it," House said. "You basta…"

"Greg! Go HOME!" Debra screamed at him. "You've done enough."

He had never been ordered by anyone to immediately concede to their demand, besides his boss, and he didn't know how he felt about it. He suddenly realized he held the brown teddy bear she'd given him when they were kids in his left hand, but couldn't find any words to make the situation better.

"Thought you'd want this," he said softly, almost with shame. He placed the teddy bear on the entertainment stand by the t.v. and walked out the door into the hallway, toward the elevator.

"Jim, oh, god! I'm so…"

"Debra, it's okay. I can see why…"

"No, no! There's no excuse for what he…oh, I need to get you some ice. It's already starting to swell," she said as she stood. "Be right back."

She glanced at the teddy bear as she walked through the door but dismissed it, grabbed the ice bucket, room key and headed out into the hallway. She had noticed the time, 2:30am, and wasn't too concerned about meeting anyone in the hall at that late hour in her night clothes.

The elevators were around the corner at the end of the hall by the refreshment room and as she walked by she noticed out of the corner of her eye House was still there waiting. She continued to walk and prayed he hadn't seen her.

But he did. He followed her into the room and stood just outside the doorway, watching the machine fill the bucket.

"Deb…ra, I'm sorry. I should have believed…"

"Yeah! You should have!" she barked at him but still avoided eye contact. "Nothing happened! _You_ were the one that asked him to _watch_ me!"

"I just…seeing you in his bed…thought…"

Suddenly she felt something cold on her fingers and realized the ice was pouring over the sides of the bucket. She cursed, poured some out then turned to face him for the first time, taking a few steps closer.

"Yeah, I knew. You could never keep anything from me. And, by the way," she said as she started to walk down the hall. "Wilson was the _best_ lover I've ever had!" Of course it wasn't true, but after what House did she didn't care what he thought. She wanted to hurt him as much as he hurt her, and that just wasn't in Debra's being.

House turned and looked at her in shock, watching her walk back to Wilson's room. His mind raced trying to think of what to say, which usually wasn't a problem. But now, this was different. He'd hurt someone he truly loved, and he felt like an utter and complete jerk.

"Deb…wait," he called out softly to her as he took a few steps towards her.

He noticed her steps weren't straight, almost about to trip and a few ice cubes fell out of the bucket. He called her name again and she suddenly stopped, and he felt better that she was listening and they could talk about what happened.

But then the bucket of ice fell to the carpet, scattering the cubes everywhere. She leaned against the wall with her shoulder, and slowly slid to the floor, her head slunched down in front of her.

In a mad dash, or mad limping dash, he rushed to her. When he reached her he lifted her head and tried to get her attention, placing his finger on the inside of her wrist to feel for her pulse, which was incredibly fast. He could tell she was having trouble focusing on him and she whispered his name.

"Haarrr," she said, and he knew she was talking about her heart.

"Oh, god…Wilson! WILSON!!"


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

The sun was just rising over the horizon as House stared out the window, face glued to the glass in silence as he had been the past three hours. Wilson was asleep closer to the bed so he'd be the first person she saw when she woke up.

House and Wilson barely spoke to each other since they'd followed the ambulance in Wilson's car, only reciting or confirming details on her recent heart transplant to the medics and discussing what the possible current complication might have been.

House felt like a complete fool for accusing them of sleeping together: in his mind, they were both adults, so what? But in his heart he felt betrayed. And Wilson felt like an idiot because he didn't realize he was starting to fall for Debra, and besides denying it to House, he was denying it to himself.

The glass door to her private room slid open and the smell of fresh brewed coffee filled the air. The noise instantly woke Wilson up and he looked up to see Cameron, in a wheelchair, with Brenda pushing her. In her lap was a tray-cup holder with three large cups of coffee. Brenda pushed her to Wilson, and she handed him a cup. He nodded and immediately took a sip.

Then Brenda pushed her to House, thanked Brenda and said she could leave. She sat staring at House, watching his breath steam up the glass from the coolness of the outside air.

"House?" she said softly.

He didn't reply.

"I've brought coffee," she offered.

He finally turned around and she tried to hide her alarm at seeing his normally gorgeous azure eyes so differently now looking soullessly back at her. From the blotchiness of his cheeks she could tell he had been crying, but he'd never admit to it. His eyes were swollen, blood shot and red, even the tip of his nose was red, giving a somewhat resemblance to Rudolph.

She pulled out his cup of coffee, his favorite – venti mocha 2 pumps peppermint – and handed it to him. He didn't take it right away but instead looked in her eyes then quickly looked away. He finally reached out and took the cup, their fingers lightly touching as he did. She took out her own cup, put it on a side table, threw the tray in the trash right beside her and pushed herself against the wall beside House.

The three sat in silence as they drank their coffee. House was in severe pain now from standing for so long, but if he sat in the hard hospital chairs for too long his butt would get numb. After House finished about half the coffee, he slowly scooted himself closer to Cameron, his back against the wall, face still looking out the window, and pushed her left shoulder with his right elbow. She'd seen him coming all along. She looked up at him and smiled, he smiled back. And the wall seemed to come down between them.

"I'm sorry, Cameron…" House told her, his voice soft and sincere.

"I'm sorry too, House."

"Oooookay…now kizzz an' makeup," came a voice from the bed.

House's eyes flew open, followed the place where the sound came from and slowly walked to her bed. Wilson was already there but he didn't mind.

"Debra, how are you feeling?" Wilson had just asked as Wilson reached for her forearm and gently squeezed it, just to let her know he was there.

"Fiiiine," she whispered groggily. "What happ…" Suddenly her eyes flew open as wide as House's had and she turned to where Wilson was standing. "Wuzz thur damge to my heart?"

"No, thankfully," Wilson said but House interrupted him.

"You really went off on me and your blood pressure just rose so fast your heart beat out of control. They've given you medication, some more to add to your list, but you'll be fine."

Debra smiled and relaxed back into the pillow. She finally turned and looked at her cousin, where she was able to see Cameron behind him. Debra waved to her and she waved back then she said to House, "Come 'ere."

He looked at her confused first then leaned in so his ear was closer to her mouth. She whispered so softly neither Cameron nor Wilson could hear what she said. He had a smile on his face when he stood back up, and squeezed her hand, nodding his hand.

"Now…you all go home," she insisted.

"No, we want to stay…"

"Okay, well, Jimmm ca' stay but you two half to leave," she said, winking at House then closing her eyes.

"We'll come back later, Deb, okay?" House said and was about to push Cameron out when he suddenly remembered something. He grabbed the plastic bag by his foot, took out the teddy bear and put it on the bed by her head and shoulder. She nuzzled her head into it and smiled. "Something to make you feel better," he said and pushed Cameron out into the hall.

With just Debra and Wilson alone in the room now, Wilson was dying to know what she'd said to him. A second later she told him.

"Next Saturday, Italian restaurant, double date…"

He looked at her surprised then felt excitement and happy and started to reply when suddenly it dawned on him that she couldn't have been talking about him and felt worse than a moron and idiot put together. She turned her head back to Wilson, grinned slightly and said, "Allison, Greg, me and…" and it seemed she had fallen asleep.

Wilson didn't really _want_ to hear who she was talking about but felt absolutely crushed.

"…me and…you."

HOUSE MD HOUSE MD HOUSE MD

Out in the hallway, House had just wheeled Cameron into the elevator to go to his office for a bit. He had a little trouble turning her around then gave up and stood against the back wall while Cameron stared at him from her wheelchair..

"I'll scoootch behind you and pull you out," he told her seriously, no playfulness at all in his tone.

"'K," she answered. "House, can I ask what Debra said?"

"No."

"'K."

"She told me we have a date next Saturday," House said, fibbing just a bit.

The elevator door opened and Cameron was expecting him to walk around her to pull her out, but just stood there looking at her sheepishly.

"Double date, actually. Deb, Wilson, you and me." He hesitated a moment then bent over, his hands gripped on the arms of the wheelchair, their faces practically touching and mocked, "What do I wear?"

She smiled and said, "Do you remember speedos?"


	12. Chapter 12

_A few questions were raised that hopefully I've answered in this chapter. Hope you enjoy it...Steph_

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

The next day, Debra was back at Wilson's hotel room and they'd decided it'd be best to give up her room and she stay with him, saving loads of money for the both of them. They'd made a playful agreement he would sleep on top of the covers and she'd sleep under them. With the $500 she and Brenda split from Jerry's failed bribery to kill Debra, she was going to look for a furnished rental apartment on a month to month lease, although she hadn't told Wilson her plans yet.

Later that night House was in his apartment and wanted to call Cameron, but he didn't have the nerve yet to be the aggressor. Every man loves a woman to 'chase' her, and House was no exception. He kept flipping the channels absent-mindedly when his phone rang. He reached for it but when he put it to his ear he didn't say 'hello.'

"House?" Cameron asked, thinking maybe he'd dropped the phone or something.

"Yeah, hey, Cameron. What's up?" he asked, feeling like a high school boy.

"I was just…Jack just left and…no one to talk to." It was silent on House's end of the line. "But if you don't want to I'll…"

"No, no. We can talk," House answered, sitting up and putting his elbows on his knees.

Again it was silent, but on both their ends.

"How did you know Debra was in the hospital again yesterday morning?" he asked, but he didn't really care.

_Dumb question, Greg!_

"Brenda called me and suggested I bring some coffee for you guys. How is she feeling, by the way?"

"I don't know," he answered honestly.

"Oh, ok."

_Doesn't even talk to his own cousin? Well, he did bring her that cute teddy bear._

"Cameron?"

"Yes?"

"What made you agree to the double date?"

"I didn't think I had a choice," she lied but she was just playing with him; she had a smile on her face but House could always tell when people did. "Debra twisted my arm."

"Oh, you did have a choice. But you don't have to…" House said, playing right into her game.

"No, no. I…want to go."

"Why?"

"Because you asked me out a while ago, remember?" she asked seriously, thinking he'd forgotten. "I think it'll be good for Debra to get out for a change, especially after what she'd been through."

"No, I didn't ask you out! I was delirious and didn't know what I was saying. What are you talking about?" he teased.

"You know! Anyway, I talked with my brother and…"

"And what?" he interrupted her.

"My brother said I'd never know if I'd miss a good thing if I didn't give you a chance."

"You're giving me a chance? Oh, how thoughtful of you," he teased then laughed.

Cameron didn't, though. "Yeah, I'm a sucker for emotionally damaged cripples, of which I guess I'm a cripple now with my leg." She laughed that time and he joined her.

Earlier the next morning, Wilson was awoken by Debra's cries and screams at Jerry and begging for the lives of House and Cameron. She had several dreamless nights and they both thought they were behind them.

"Jerry, don't!" she screamed out in her sleep, her feet only jerking this time but from her facial expressions Wilson knew it was a bad one. He sat up and looked down at her. Tears streamed from her face and her head rocked side to side.

"Debra…Deb…wake up," he said, softly at first then more urgently.

Her body shook and shot up from the bed, reaching out for someone. "Greggg…"

"Debra, you're fine. Wake up," he pleaded.

She turned to look at him and she burst into tears.

"He's gone…I…Greg…Jerry sh…"

"No, no, he's fine. You're fine…you're safe, Debra."

Wilson's heart broke for her. He wished he could take all her pain and the memory of that fateful day away from her, but he couldn't. All he could do was comfort her as best as he could. He put his arms around her and held her tightly. He gently rubbed her back and pressed her closer to him until her wails settled down and she was just down to heavy sniffles.

She wiped her nose with her hand and then laughed a little. She pushed herself away from him and looked at him very embarrassed.

"Jim, I…I'm sorry," she said, trying to hold back on her tears again.

"You know what drives me crazy about you?" he asked with a grin on his face. "You apologize too darn much!" he said then grinned and touched her gently on her forearm.

"I'm sorry…oh, I did it again, didn't I?" she asked then they laughed.

He saw her tears had dried and he saw one lone tear on her cheek. He reached out for it and wiped it away with his thumb, lingering longer than necessary.

"It's…I never thought it would take this long to…get over."

"You've been through a lot, Debra. To tell you the truth I don't know how I would have handled it. I'm kind of glad he knocked me out with…sorry," but her laughter made him laugh along with her.

"Well, maybe once I get home things will settle down a bit," she said hopefully.

Wilson regretted hearing her say that; he didn't want her to leave. He got to know her to a certain degree, but he wanted more time with her to get to know her better.

"You know, you are not really in shape quite yet to make the trip home. Maybe you should stay here with me…here in Jersey, I mean, until you can."

Wilson mentally crossed his fingers.

"No, Jim. I appreciate it but you have too much to deal with without me making things worse. I wished he did just kill…"

She started to cry uncontrollably again and Wilson died inside. The only thing he could do was hold her tighter. She returned the hug and put her arms around him.

"Don't you ever, EVER say that again, young lady!" Wilson yelled at her.

She pushed away from him and looked him in the eye, and for the first time noticed how deep his brown eyes really were. She could see herself get lost in them. But she couldn't control her tears.

"I did't mean tha'"

Wilson brought his hands up to her face, tightly on both cheeks, and held them firm. "Good! Because I never want you to hear…"

She nodded her head still in his hands and the pressure from his lower hand put her lips in the shape of an oval.

"eye wonn't" she said between her squished lips. And they couldn't help but laugh again.

He brought her head toward his and kissed her quickly on the forehead. She hesitated just two seconds and pulled her head back. This time, it was Wilson's turn to peer into her deep, azure eyes. Their eyes locked and neither one diverted them.

The air in the room had grown thick. Without thinking he brought her to him again and kissed her forehead, this time longer and gentler. When he pulled back her eyes were closed and her face looked so angelic to him. He pulled her to him again and their lips met for their first kiss, her eyes still closed. With their heads tilted their lips melded perfectly together and they both groaned deep within their throats.

Debra suddenly realized it wasn't a good idea to be kissing, but more afraid of where it would lead. So she broke free of their kiss.

"We…we shouldn't be…" she said breathlessly.

"I know, I know," he answered.

They couldn't help but keep their eyes on the other. And without thinking, their lips met again in a more feverish long, hard, sensual kiss. He gently lay her down on the bed, her hair flowing in soft curls around her face. With his right hand he ran his fingers through it and loved the softness and scent of her freshly washed hair.

"ggggg…Jim," she said, their lips still pressed together.

Debra lost herself with his soft, wet, warm lips pressed against hers and didn't finish. A second later she turned her head away from him to break the kiss then looked back at him.

"Jim, are you sure you want this to, uh…" she asked.

"Do you? I don't want you to think I'm pushing…"

"No, no, you're not. It's just…am I ready, with the transplant and all? Didn't the doctor say I shouldn't over exert myself?"

Wilson laid his head on the pillow, their arms still around the other. "Yeah, you're right." He was interested to know what she meant with 'over exert' herself. He thought he felt his cheeks blush.

He removed his arms from her and turned over on his other side, facing away from Debra. He didn't feel rejected because she made perfect sense. After she built herself up in such a frenzy fighting with House, he was afraid she would do the same if they did have sex. Then he laughed at himself for his House-ish ego.

Debra felt bad because she thought she hurt Wilson and she hated herself for it. She wanted to reach out for him, not just to make him feel better but to make herself feel better. She finally decided it'd be best to leave it alone and turned on her side, their backs together.

"Debra?" Wilson said, pushing his foot over to find hers. He gently rubbed the top of her foot under the covers and kept it there when he stopped.

Debra's heart raced when she thought he'd ask her to cuddle up with him.

"Yeah?"

"'nite."

She hesitated a moment with her eyes open. "'nite, James."

James?' She never called him James. _Crap. Good job there, Ace._


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

The following Monday, House had returned to work full-time after his crowbar 'kiss of death.' But now, it was Thursday, and his double date with Debra, Wilson and Cameron was just two days away. He was nervous; nervous as hell.

"…But if there is no blood in the urine then it can't be…" Chase said.

"Right, I know that, but in this case it wasn't…" Foreman butt in.

Chase and Foreman had been bickering back and forth for the past ten minutes about their latest patient, but he was only giving them half of his attention.

Tuesday of that week, House cornered Wilson in the bathroom in a panic about what he should wear to the restaurant. This particular Italian restaurant they were going to was jacket required, but he felt his work jackets were inappropriate. Of course, he spent several minutes literally knocking his forehead against the wall because he had _never _obsessed with clothing and didn't understand why he was now. He thought he had some loose brain cells and needed to put them back in order.

When they went clothes shopping that day at lunch, House tried on several jackets, all of which were fine but House didn't like them for whatever reason. 'Sleeves too short…' or 'not long enough.' He was really testing Wilson's patience. But, they finally settled on a chocolate brown one with ecru-colored thin vertical strips, a matching ecru colored shirt and brown/tan/ecru diagonal striped tie.

"House, what do you think?" Chase asked House. "HOUSE! Are you listening?"

"Huh, wha…oh, yeah, give him Predisone and test his creatine levels again."

"But, if we do that and it's…" Foreman started to say but House cut him off.

"Just _do_ it will ya!" House barked.

The two men left his office, and at first felt a little guilty for snapping at them the way he did, but that lasted only a tenth of a second. He had been thinking so hard about the date he was oblivious to everyone around him, although he'd still catch what they'd want and help them anyway. If he were any nicer, the two would have known something was up and bugged him to death about it and he just couldn't stand to have that happen. Of course Cuddy knew, but he was okay with that, since she swore two clinic hours that she'd not say a word to the two men.

Cameron called him Wednesday to see how he was because they hadn't talked since Debra was in the hospital the Saturday before. It went something like this:

"Hey, House. It's Cameron."

"Hi," House answered then was silent.

So was Cameron. "What are you doing?"

"Uh, what I always do on Wednesday nights."

"Oh, hooker night?" she said, trying not to laugh.

"Yeah, exactly," House said. He returned Cameron's laugh, but it was more of a nervous laugh, not a funny ha-ha laugh. "Nah, just sitting here watching that Cheers guy go through a peanut factory. Man, what a job."

Now it was Cameron's turn to be quiet for a moment. "Hey, Shrek III is coming out! I sooo want to go see that movie!"

"Oh, ok. Tell me how it was, okay?" He hesitated a moment. "Cameron?" he whispered sexily with a grin.

"Yeah?" 

"What are you wearing?"

"Just an old pair of…House!"

The two of them couldn't contain their laughter, and it calmed House down just a bit. Maybe their date would go okay after all. They spent another hour on the phone, but after ten minutes, and House knew it would be a long conversation, he put the call on speaker. They talked about nothing in particular, but it must have been good enough to carry a conversation that long.

Friday afternoon, the day before the date, House was on his way to get his haircut and beard trimmed; he usually did the beard himself but since he was there he'd have that done, too. Cuddy stopped him in the hallway.

"Sorry, have a date with my hooker. You can join us if you'd like," House told her. He wasn't serious, he just knew it would get her to get to the point quick so he could leave.

"I've been thinking about something. Do you think Debra would want to be my assistant – part-time. That way, I'd be able to keep an eye on her and she won't be home alone, and it'd give her something to do. I know she was bored to death before she was released.

House thought it was a good idea, but a bad idea. He didn't want Debra to rush herself while she recouped, but he knew she was right.

"Sure, I'll ask her tomorrow night."

He went home, ate a peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich, topped it off with a shot of Scotch, played his piano for about an hour, shuffled back and forth in his living room, downed a shot of Scotch, changed the sheets on his bed (that was subconscious; he hadn't even known what he did until an hour later), took a shot of Scotch, shuffled back and forth in his living room, took a shot of Scotch, rearranged his CD collection in alphabetical order by artist, and lastly, before he found himself on his recliner with his feet on the back, legs in the air and his head on the ottoman, a shot of Scotch.

"I neeeeed toooo cawwwl sumbawdy!" he gurgled, his head hanging over the back of the ottoman.

He reached into his pocked for his cell phone and dialed Wilson.

"What?! Go to sleep, House!" Wilson said even before he knew who was on the other end of the line.

"How'd you know it wuzz mee? You're goooood."

"Shhh, Debra's asleep. She had another rough day today. Did you get your hair cut and beard shaved?"

"Yep a roonie doonie!" House answered then he burst into a loud laugh. "An' why are you tellinnnn' _me_ to be qui hiccup et? She can't hear me."

"House, go to bed! I'll call before we leave for the restaurant."

"Bu'…ok, fine," House said and hung up the phone.

House lay on the ottoman flailing his arms like he was orchestrating and started to laugh at nothing in particular. When he tried to get up a few minutes later he found himself on the floor with his face in the carpet.

"Hmmmph…I need to quit drinking."

Needless to say, by the time he got to bed it was 2:45 a.m. He set the alarm for 12 noon and was asleep within five minutes.

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The call had woken Debra up but she just moaned and rolled over facing Wilson before she slept again. Wilson couldn't go back to sleep because too many thoughts were going on in his head. _How would the date go? Would House behave himself? Will I make a fool out of myself?_

He was also thinking of what Debra had asked him earlier in the week. When she mentioned them sharing a rental property, furnished, he was seriously considering it; she made a very good presentation. They'd decided to rent a two bedroom apartment leased monthly and share rent and all utilities, on the stipulation that they'd each have their own bed. Neither one of them said it, but they were both thinking it: 'Yep, two bedrooms so House won't grow suspicious of our relationship if it did move forward.'

Wilson would start looking on Monday. He'd tell House about it in about two years.


	14. Chapter 14

_**HERE'S A NICE LONG ONE! **_

_**Just a heads up, Chapter 15 will be rated –M-!!!! It won't be like my others, promise. It'll be more romantic. But I won't tell you who!!!!! This chapter was fun to write. Hope you enjoy reading it. Thanks for the reviews, btw. Steph**_

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

House woke up in his bed, grunted loudly at himself (instantly regretting do so) for getting so drunk the night before of the double date and hesitantly turned to look at the clock. It was 4:30, and he was supposed to pick Cameron up at 6:00 then meet the others at 6:30. He tore into the bathroom, took a quick shower, dressed to the nines, debated whether he should put cologne on or not, popped two vicodin and raced out of his apartment. He had two quick errands to run and he would barely make it to her place on time.

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"Jim, thanks for buying this dress and shoes. I absolutely _love_ them. It's not too often a man can buy a woman a dress that she likes." Debra suddenly felt her cheeks start to burn.

"My pleasure. Well, House and I both picked it out. I'm glad you like it. I was worried about the heels, though," he said as he put them on the bed beside her so she could put them on.

"You and _Greg_ did? Wow," she said with a smile. "And the shoes, they're great," she said as she slipped them on.

She stood and walked to the mirror on the dresser and seemed pleased with how she looked. They bought her a light blue silk v-neck dress outlined with dark blue flowers, not too obtrusive but that brought out her curvy waist and full chest, Wilson noticed with a smile; the shoes were a dark blue. She turned and looked at Wilson and posed for him. "So, what do you think?"

She looked a little pale but Wilson wasn't too worried about it. "Perfect," he answered, his own cheeks beginning to burn from blushing. "You okay with your cousin now?" Wilson asked as he grabbed his car keys and headed for the door.

She nodded her head. "Yeah, I guess I was just wrapped up in my own little messed up world I hadn't noticed what Greg was going through. Besides, I can't stay mad at him."

He opened the door for her and she walked through, Wilson closed the door behind them as they headed for the elevator. "If it makes you feel any better neither can I. Guess we'll just have to live with him," he said then laughed.

They walked out of the elevator into the lobby and noticed the clerk had seen them, who quickly smiled at them. Wilson gushed with pride. He looked at Debra as she did him, both smiling at the other. He threw his elbow out and waited for her to take it, which she did, proudly, as they walked out into the unknown.

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Cameron sat impatiently on her couch waiting for House. Her brother Jack had just left at her insistence. Her watch read 5:55. No sign of House, which was fine, that'd be too early for him to arrive anyway. She was expecting him a little late.

She looked at her watch again at what felt to her like an hour later and it was 6:15. Still no House.

She was very nervous and had butterflies that wouldn't stop messing with her stomach. She went to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of wine, poured a glass and sat back down. She looked at her watch again.

It was 6:20 and by this time, even with the wine, she was beginning to fume because they were supposed to meet Wilson and Debra at 6:30.

At 6:25 she'd had enough. She reached for the phone and dialed his cell phone. It rang twice before it was picked up but there was silence.

"House? Where _are_ you? We're…"

"Answer your door," he told her calmly.

"Oh, you're…" she said as she stood and headed for the door.

"Just get the door, woman!" he said playfully.

She hung up her cell and opened the door quickly.

There stood House, in his new suit and tie, a little disheveled but looking dapper as ever, with a clean face, new haircut, sunglasses hiding his beautiful blue eyes, holding his cane in his right hand and a bouquet of flowers in the other. Cameron was completely floored. She in no way expected anything from him, especially flowers. That was just so un-House like.

"Oh, are those for me?" she asked as she stepped aside and let him in.

"No, they're to put in your toilet to give the room that 'floral' look," he said smartly as he held them out to her to take. "Here's your sign."

He took a few steps inside her apartment and took a quick look around. He'd never been in the whole way before and he was going to take every advantage of it. Actually, he was looking for a picture of her husband to see if he met her standards.

She smiled at him, thanked him and took them to the kitchen to find a vase, filled it with water, put the flowers in and came back out into the living room. It was only then that he noticed she had a cane in her left hand.

"You – got the cast off?"

"No. Mysteriously, when I took a bath earlier, it just melted off my leg!" she said. "Here's your sign."

They both laughed then Cameron took a once over of House. She looked at him and frowned.

"Why are you still wearing sunglasses? The sun set half an hour ago," she said as she grabbed her light sweater and walked toward him.

"I hate the sun. The sun does crazy things to me," he said in a Transylvanian accent.

He leaned forward and seemed to her as if he were going to bite her neck. But instead he kissed her lightly on the cheek.

"We better go! I've been waiting for you for half an hour!" House said with a grin as he stepped aside to let her pass.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," she said as she stepped through the door. "I get it, you got drunk again last night, didn't you?"

"No! What gave you that idea?" he said, gave her a wink and escorted her down to the parking lot.

She was looking for his car but didn't see it. She looked at him confused and noticed he had his eyes on something. She followed his stare and noticed his motorcycle in the handicapped space of the apartment complex.

"House! I don't believe you! You brought your _bike_? On a _date?_" she asked appalled as they approached his bike.

"No! It's a _double_ date so therefore there are no rules. I can drive whatever I want," he said as he handed her a helmet, put his on and got on the bike. He turned, as he had been waiting for her to get on but she didn't.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing to the thing attached to the extra belt behind him.

"It's a Dronkey," he told her.

"A _what_?"

"I thought you said you liked Shrek? It's the dragon and Donkey's baby," he said then turned his head, with a grin hidden from her behind his helmet.

"I…it's…you bought _this_? That's why you were late?" she asked surprised, and a little touched.

"Uh huh. Now get on! We're going to be late!"

She stepped forward, grabbed the Dronkey and looked at it more closely. "Oh, my god! This is the most adorable thing in the…"

"No, _I'm_ the most adorable thing in the world but I won't be if you _don't get on!"_

She just stood there giving him the evil eye.

"What?" he asked.

"I'm serious, Dronkey or not, I'm not getting on your bike. We're driving your car," she insisted.

"Can't, got a flat."

"You do not!"

"Uh, it's at the garage." he said, but in more of a question.

"Nope, don't buy that one either."

"Because I wanted to feel your perky little breasts press against my back?" he asked tentatively.

She finally smiled, shook her head and said, "Okay, that one I buy."

She put the helmet on and got on carefully, holding the Dronkey at his stomach with both of her arms. She never felt so secure in her life.

"I don't want that thing in my lap!" House shouted as he revved the engine.

"Then we should have taken your car!" Cameron yelled back.

House smiled and peeled out of the parking lot, and in the distance came a rumble of thunder that neither one of them heard.

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"God, where _are _they?" Wilson asked a little perturbed. "They were supposed to be here at 6:30! It's almost 7:00! He's not even answering his cell phone."

They'd been talking more than thirty minutes and the conversation flowed easily between them. They found they both liked to travel, although Wilson regrets not having enough time for that, and they both like to read, among other similar interests.

"Speaking for myself, I like just the two of us here," Debra said as she took another sip of her tea. "But don't tell Greg. It'd hurt his feelings," she said sarcastically and they both laughed.

Wilson noticed the waitress walking toward them. He covered his mouth with his hand and said, "I bet she's going to ask us to leave…oh, hello," he said to the waitress as she stopped at their table.

"Can I get you two some more drinks while you're waiting for your friends?" she asked politely, not a tone to her voice at all.

"Yes, that'd be great. I'm sorry, but I don't know where they are," he said embarrassed.

"Oh, don't worry about it. It's fine," she said as she smiled and walked away.

Debra giggled. "That was a close one! I thought they'd ask us to wash dishes."

"No, that'll be House after we eat when he doesn't cough up the money for his share of dinner. We'll pay for Cameron," Wilson said and again they laughed. "You know, I love how easy you are…"

Debra's expression changed to bewilderment at his comment because he stopped in mind sentence and looked behind her, but she couldn't see House and Cameron walk toward their table with the maitre' de in the lead.

"Hey! Don't you two…oh, no. You _both_ have canes now? That is just too cu…" Debra started to say.

"Don't say it!" House fussed as he approached Debra, who stood to give her cousin a hug as Cameron put the helmets on the floor under the table.

"Oh, shut up," Debra said with a laugh.

After they all sat down, Cameron and Debra started talking about girlie things, including the Dronkey. House leaned toward Wilson and whispered, "I told you she'd look good in that dress," referring to his cousin.

"Hey, I picked out the shoes," Wilson shot back.

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Their double date went fantastically and they all shared childhood stories and laughed the whole two hours they were there. House never did take off his sunglasses, even after Debra begged him to. Wilson told House they were looking for a rental apartment and he was all for it, although Cameron was a little shocked. House hadn't told her about their little 'love connection' they had going on.

They decided to leave when Wilson noticed Debra was starting to look pale again and looked very tired.

"Greg, you have to promise me you'll come over more often," Debra said as they walked out toward the door. "This has been sooo fun!" They all agreed.

"He'll come over but only if you feed him," Wilson threw in.

"And you have to give him Scotch," Cameron chimed in.

"And I want dessert, too!"

They all laughed as they approached the door. It was pouring outside, although it was abating just a bit.

"Oh, see, House! _This_ is why you're NOT supposed to drive your bike on a date," Cameron fussed but then smiled. "We'll just wait it out."

"Oh, lord, no fighting! Tonight's been too great," Debra said and lightly tapped House on the shoulder.

She suddenly got dizzy and Wilson reached over for her arm for her to gain her balance. "Can you two stay with her while I get the car?" Wilson asked.

"Sure, we're not going anywhere anytime soon," Cameron laughed then winked at House.

After Debra and Wilson pulled away, House looked at Cameron and said, "Come on."

"NO! We are waiting until it stops raining!"

"No, we're not," House insisted.

"Yes, we are!" Cameron insisted even harder.

"Fine," House said as he put his helmet on and walked out into the rain. "You can walk home."

"You wouldn't dare…oh, wait, yes you would. Hold up!"


	15. Chapter 15

-1**CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

By the time House and Cameron got back to her place, they were both soaked to the skin. Rain pelted their helmets and House swore he'd have to get windshield wipers for it. They ran, as fast as two crippled people could with injured legs and wobbling on canes, to the entrance of her building and they took off their helmets. House was taken aback by her long, wet hair that lay on her shoulders, and to him it seemed her makeup hadn't smeared at all. She was more beautiful to him now than she was when he saw her at the hospital fund raiser.

"You owe me, House! Owe me big!" she said as she laughed, wringing the water out of her hair then flipped it back.

"Hey, you were the one that wanted this date," he replied coyly but playfully.

"Yeah, well, you didn't mention I'd be on your stupid bike. Come on. It's chilly out here and we're wet. You need to dry off bef…"

Cameron was cut off by House's warm, rain-soaked lips pressing against hers, his arm around her waist. His breath on her face made shivers go down her spine, although she thought it was a breeze. But it wasn't. Their kiss grew stronger and she put her arms around his neck and his other arm around her waist, his cane pressing against her back. Their bodies met in a tight, warm embrace, their faces flushed with the passion they had for each other.

Their kiss lasted for what felt to them hours but when they heard someone clear their throat they broke their kiss. House stepped back as the person walked between them and through the door then ran his finger through his soaked hair, as if uncomfortable.

Cameron smiled, grabbed the helmet and said, "Don't worry. Daddy's isn't waiting inside to turn the front porch light on. Come on."

House didn't say a word but followed her inside. When they got in the elevator they just stared at each other, not knowing what to say, although neither one of them was nervous. It finally felt right for the both of them.

When the elevator door opened and Cameron stepped out, House hit her butt with the helmet. She squealed, turned around and laughed. When they got to the door, she handed him her cane and helmet while she unlocked it. He took a step closer to her and pressed his body into hers, and bending over, his lips found her neck, his fingers pushed back her hair and he kissed it softly.

Cameron took in a deep breath, turned, and kissed his nose. He stood back up and said, "I kiss your neck and you kiss my nose?"

She opened the door and walked through, stepping aside for him to come in.

"Yeah, that was the only thing I could reach," she said as she walked toward the bathroom.

House just stood speechless and watched her butt--the way the material clung to it and her thighs as she swayed, her blouse tight around her waist. House was definitely into Cameron, and knew that he wouldn't be going home until he'd had her.

"Do you have a preference on the color of towel you want?" she hollered from the bathroom closet.

"No! As long as it isn't pink," he said with a laugh.

"No problem there, I hate pink," she said, her voice trailing as she came back out holding two towels.

Cameron kicked off her shoes by the door and told House to do the same. They were standing shoulder to shoulder and she handed him a blue one, while she kept a white one. They stood drying themselves off in the little space of foyer, but they kept their eyes on one another. He had just dried his neck and then shook his head hard and fast, sending sprays of water at her.

"Hey! Watch what you're doing! I'm trying to dry off here!" she said but with a laugh.

"Well, there's only one thing I can think of to take care of that," he said as he stepped toward her.

He threw his towel behind her while she held her own in front of her. He grabbed her towel and threw it to the floor then pulled her to him with his hands in between them. He tugged lightly so her body came up a little, he knelt down and kissed her again.

"Come here," Cameron said when they broke their kiss.

She took his hand and led him to the bathroom. She leaned against the sink and pulled him to her, kissing him passionately, pulling his jacket off over his shoulders and laid it on the counter. He thanked her by putting his hands on her waist and easily slid her blouse up over her head.

Goosebumps ran over her body as his cold hands explored her waist, stomach, breasts, but she was soon warmed by his lips pressing against hers once more. He pulled her to him and reached behind her, unsnapping her bra in two steps and pulling it out from between them.

Cameron pushed him back to unbutton his shirt and he grinned wickedly when he saw her breasts, her nipples hard from the cold rain, or the excitement of the moment. He let her undress him. When the buttons were undone she ran his fingers over his chest, pressing her palms lightly against him. She got a hold of the collar and took it off, laying it on top of his jacket.

House couldn't stand it any longer. He took of his pants, leaving them on the floor, and stood before her in just his boxers. She smiled when she noticed the bulge in them and took off her skirt, letting it fall to the floor.

Without a word between them, House took her hand and led her to her bed, turning her around and then sitting down, pulling her to him. She put her hands on his shoulders as he pressed his head against her chest, but didn't play with her breasts. He just held her like that for a few seconds.

Cameron at first was taken aback, because while this was something they both wanted, neither one wanted to rush it. They wanted the time to explore the other and enjoy it, not a quick 'wham bam thank you Cam.' Both of his hands ran up her back and she closed her eyes, enjoying his caress.

Before Cameron knew what happened, he pulled her forward and she fell on top of him, he on his back. They laughed a bit before the heat sprang up on them again and he rolled over, both lying on their sides and staring into the others' eyes.

"Are you scared?" Cameron asked, her hand on his waist.

"Nah, you?" he said, skimming over her body with his eyes.

"A little."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Maybe I'm thinking too much about it," she answered honestly.

"Then don't!" he said, which made Cameron laugh.

Cameron sat up then stood, telling him to stand so she could pull the covers down, which he eagerly complied. She let him get in bed first and after he did, she was busted staring at his leg.

"Pretty gnarly, huh?" he said, almost in shame.

"I…I was surprised how big it is," she finally said, not sure of the right words to say, if there were any.

"Thanks, but I think we were talking about my leg," he said with a grin.

"Shut up," she laughed as she sat down beside him.

She ran her hand over his knee and moved upward, putting very little pressure on the huge scar that covered almost the entire thigh.

"Cam…don't," he said, his voice lost in his throat.

"House, I'm sorry." She hesitated a moment. "It's just…such a big part of you, who you are."

"Yeah, sucks to be me, huh?"

"Would you stop," she said as she lay down beside him, pressing herself against him, her head resting in her hand, face to face. "I understand, though."

"Good. Now shut up and kiss me," House told Cameron.

They made love for hours that night, in between several quick naps. They couldn't stop the need to feel every inch of the others' body, tasting, licking, and reveling in the sensations, the smells, the sounds they made. There was nothing whorish about any of it.

Cameron learned quickly early on he didn't really like to talk during sex, even though he would moan loudly or say her name, and she was fine with it. It gave her more time to concentrate on pleasuring him, giving her the opportunity to enjoy feeling him penetrate her slowly, rapidly increasing as their screams grew. Him being inside her was the most electrical, sexual charge she'd ever felt, and she just attributed it to feeling in connected to him in more than a sexual way.

They collapsed into each other's arms and feel into a deep, multi-orgasm heaven of sleep.

And there they were, Dr. Gregory House and Dr. Allison Cameron, sleeping in her bed, their arms around the other and their legs entwined, her head resting in the bend of his arm, blissfully sleeping. And dreaming. Well, no longer dreaming.

They both finally got what they've wanted for so long.

True intimacy.


	16. Chapter 16

**_A/N: This has been revised, thanks to Limaccia's evilly observant eye! THANKS:o) The part that was changed is after House wakes up, and I think it makes a LOT more sense. Sorry about that, folks...I guess I'll have to be very, very careful from now on. lol_**

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

"Wow, I can't believe how tired I am just from going to dinner. We were only out two hours," Debra said as she and Wilson walked through the door of his hotel room after their double date. Debra sat down on the bed with her arms behind her for support.

"Well, I've told you before but you didn't want to believe me," he answered cutely as he threw his car keys and hotel key on the table. He sat down next to her and they stared out the window, watching the early spring rain pelt the window. "Debra, I've never seen House have a real good time, or allow himself to, anyway. And he did tonight. It was nice to see him enjoy himself."

She looked at him bewildered. "Really? Are you serious?"

"Yeah, he kept his sunglasses on the whole time but I think it was because he was either drunk or had a hangover, one of the two," he said with a laugh.

Debra stared out the window again, the expression on her face changed to that of concern. Wilson knew there was something going on in there, though he wasn't really sure if he wanted to know what it was.

He stood, said he was going to get some ice and suggested she change while he was out. After he left and she stood, she was a little dizzy and it was difficult for her to get her night shirt and get to the bathroom to change and take off her makeup but she did it. As she started to unbutton her dress, nausea overcame her and her head began to spin wildly. She grabbed the sink and closed her eyes, hoping that would stop the head spins. But it didn't, they only grew worse.

There were several loud banging noises and it took her a second to realize it was Wilson at the door to see if the coast was clear for him to come in. She hollered out to come in but her voice sounded strange to her.

Wilson walked in and said something about the ice machine being too loud when he caught her in the bathroom out of the corner of his eye. He turned and saw her just before she lost her strength and was about to pass out. He ran to her just in time and caught her. He put his arm around her waist, letting her head fall onto his shoulder as she moaned and he led her to the bed and sat her down.

"Debra, talk to me," Wilson pleaded as he knelt down in front of her and looked at her face. Her face was paler than it was before they left the restaurant and her eyes looked as if they were having difficulty focusing. He put his middle finger on the vein in her neck and seemed relieved, as it wasn't beating too fast and knew there was probably nothing to worry about.

"Deb, can you change…on your own?" he asked, noticing three buttons of her dress were undone.

"Yea…'m ffffine," she mumbled disoriented, as she reached for the other buttons on her dress and undid them.

Wilson was a little shy but knew he couldn't leave her the way she was. "Debra, I'm going to go get your nightshirt then go to the window and let me know when you're done, okay?"

She didn't say anything but nodded her head. He got her shirt and laid it next to her then went to stand at the window. With the darkness outside and the glare of the rain, he could see her reflection, which was perfect for him because he could still keep an eye on her. He watched her carefully for any alarming symptoms as she pulled the dress over her shoulders and let it fall behind her. She reached behind her and unsnapped her bra, throwing it to the floor. She grabbed the nightshirt and slid it over her head.

"Done," she said, her voice soft and weak.

Wilson turned, put some ice in a cup, poured some water then went to her, sitting beside her on the bed and handed her the cup. She nodded her head in a 'thanks' and took it, drinking almost half of it down.

"I…I want to go to bed," she told him groggily, handing him the cup.

"Fine, you do need sleep. And you are _not _getting out of bed tomorrow," he insisted as he stood and helped her stand.

He took her dress and put it over the chair by the bed then pulled the covers down and she sat down again, twisted her body and lay down, her eyes hit the pillow and she closed her eyes.

_God, she is so pretty_ Wilson thought to himself. He really liked Debra, and had grown somewhat infatuated with her. He loved being there for her and knew she'd be there for him if he ever needed her to be. He loved the way she laughed at every tough predicament yet met it head on. He loved her strength and she was an incredibly affectionate and caring person.

There are two kinds of people in the world: givers and takers. Neither was really bad in itself, but taken to the extreme spelled disaster in any relationship, which resulted in either smothering the other or draining the essence out of the person. Wilson was a giver, and so was Debra, but then again, they seemed to know when to give and when to take when it was needed. They balanced each other out. And he liked it.

He was also really looking forward to finding an apartment to share; getting out of the hotel and living a somewhat normal life was definitely appealing. But something bugged him although he wasn't really sure why. It scared him a little, no, a lot. It wasn't so much the move but what House would think, or do. House had hit him once before, and he knew he'd do it again if it came to that. He'd just have to be straight with him and 'ask permission' to date his cousin.

But for now, he didn't need to know. He smiled at Debra, gently placed the covers over her, stood and changed into sweats, turned the lights off and got into bed, over the sheets but under the blanket. He placed his head in his right arm and started to think about how he was going to approach House.

Debra stirred in her sleep, stretched and rolled on her side. Her arm crossed his waist and her head found his chest, settling in comfortably and fell back to sleep. He smiled down at her, and couldn't resist. He took his arm and placed it over her head, his hand touching her shoulder and rubbed it with his thumb. She stirred again, moaned softly, and put her right leg over his. They were separated by blankets between them, but even through that they'd still managed to become closer.

And it touched Wilson's heart. He'd fallen, hook, line and sinker, for Debra.

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House groaned loudly, smashed his face with his hand like a little kid and sat up in bed a deep, long yawn. His head was pounding and he needed some aspirin, with a hit of two Vicodin. He got up, went to the bathroom…_hey, this isn't my bathroom…_ looked in the mirror and was disgusted at how 'clean' he looked and wondered why.

Then it all came back to him in a flood of visions: _…dinner, Italian, I think; Wilson, Debra, someone else; laughing, I was _laughing_? Room was dark – no, I wore sunglasses, but why? Oh, yeah, fight with Scotch. Asking Debra if she wanted to work for Cuddy in two weeks; rode bike with someone on back…_ An evil, wickedly charming grin splashed across his face when he remembered who it was. He looked down at something on the floor and they were his pants, with a female's outfit on top.

_Cool! I got lucky last night, gotta go harass her!_

He walked back into the bedroom and noticed the lump under the covers that wasn't supposed to be there, but then again, it was a lump that wasn't his bed. It moved then became still again, exposing a shoulder. He sighed, shook his head and walked to the bed, reached out and shook her shoulder with his cane.

"Hey!" House yelled then regretted it when his head screamed in protest. "Get up!"

The woman moaned, yawned and pulled the covers down to her waist and stretched. She suddenly realized she was naked and pulled them up quickly to her neck. "Oh, mornin', House."

"Cameron?! What the hell are you doing in my bed?!" he asked playfully.

She frowned at him and said, "This is _my_ bed, House." She sat up but kept the blanket up to her chest.

"I, uh, yeah, sure," he said, rubbing his forehead with his eyes closed. He remembered, all right. It was a night they'd never forget. "Go take a shower," he finally told her as he turned to leave.

"Uh, wouldn't you rather join me?" she asked hopefully.

"Nope," he said as he walked out. A smile crossed his lips as soon as he was alone in the living room.

Cameron was _fuming_! How could he just … oh, but she remembered who she slept with and laughed, shook her head and headed for the bathroom.

But House had other plans for her that morning.


	17. Chapter 17

****

OK! Here's a cliffy! Ugh, I know, I know! But trust me, I know where it's going so I should have a couple of chapters up this weekend:o) Hope you like, and thanks for the reviews! Steph

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

It wasn't until Cameron had the cold water hit her face in the shower did she realize she was in her own apartment and House was bossing _her_ around, telling _her_ to take a shower? The _nerve_ of him! When she was done she got out, quickly dried off, dressed, combed her hair, putting it in a ponytail and opened the door of the bathroom.

She was met with the most god awful smell anyone could imagine. It sort of smelled like food, but she couldn't be sure. She followed the stench and was about to yell at House as to what he was cooking and was met with the most hilarious sight she had ever seen.

House was standing in his boxers and t-shirt, picking out in a bowl what she supposed was the shells from the eggs he'd just cracked, sizzling hot frying pan which was spraying grease all over her clean stove top, smoke rising from her toaster, where she assumed toast was being burned and a very _black _long strip of something on a paper towel on a plate.

He cursed and hurried back to the frying pan, where he tried to turn over a piece of bacon and burned his finger from the grease. He flung his hand in the air and put the finger in his mouth to take the sting away.

Cameron smiled, went back to the bedroom, grabbed his pants and returned to the doorway of the kitchen.

"You need butter on that burn," Cameron said softly, so as not to scare him too much. From what she was seeing, he'd probably knock the frying pan onto the floor and he'd blame it on her.

"Jesus, Cameron!" he yelled, taking the frying pan off the burner and set it on the back one. He put his hands on his hips and shrugged his shoulders. "I…I was trying to make…"

Cameron smiled sweetly at him and finished his sentence, "…a mess. And you've succeeded. Put these on. Let's get some _real_ food." She handed his pants out to him.

As he took the pants she said, "I appreciate the thought, though."

"Yeah, well, what can I say?" he said with a laugh.

"Um, saying you can't cook would be a great start!"

About an hour later, they were sitting in a little diner around the corner eating a real breakfast. They just talked about little things, nothing substantial. Neither one discussed the events that transpired the night before, specifically in the bedroom. For one, Cameron didn't want him to think she was making a big deal out of it and start talk about marriage, and for the other, House didn't want Cameron to think he'd enjoyed it, which he did, tremendously. But from the way they were eating, as if they were ravished after working a long shift at the hospital without food, it told the other more than words could say.

House was just finishing his last pancake when he waved at the waitress for another cup of coffee.

"I thought Debra looked really good, considering what she's been through. Do you think she's holding up okay?" Cameron asked.

"Sure."

Cameron loved his short answers of avoidance. "Did you notice their body language? I think they are into each other."

House's eyebrows flew up at that. "How do you mean?"

"You know, they were sitting beside the other, their bodies were facing the other but their heads would look off during the conversations.

"And that would mean…?"

"Oh, Lord, King of All Observation! You hadn't noticed?!" she said then laughed.

"Yeah, I did."

"Would you be upset if they did get together?" she asked.

"Damn, Cameron! I really am _not_ in the mood to talk about feelings right now. Let's just talk about…pancakes."

"Okay, fair enough. Can I ask you something?" Cameron asked as she set her silverware in the plate, pushed it back and leaned back in the chair.

"Sure, but do I have to answer?" he asked, looking at her with trepidation.

"No, not if you don't want to."

House wiped his mouth, threw the napkin on the plate and sipped the last of the coffee.

"Okay, but you owe me one. Shoot."

"That's somewhat fair. Ok, what was Debra talking about after she was … shot? Do you know what she meant?" she asked, her curiosity had gotten the best of her.

He looked at her, just a flash of anger that quickly dissipated. "Yeah."

Just then the waitress came by and refilled his mug then Cameron's and took the empty plates.

Cameron sat there expecting him to continue but he didn't. "Hey, why don't we take Debra and Wilson some breakfast? After all, it was Debra's idea to have us go on the double date," Cameron asked.

House thought about it for a minute, shook his head 'no' but said, "sure, but I'm not buying."

Cameron was happy that she'd at least gotten him to make a nice gesture, but left what Debra said alone.

As the two walked out of the restaurant, one with a cane in the right hand and the other with a cane in the left hand, Cameron holding a bag with Styrofoam trays, House leaned into Cameron, shoulders touching and said very quietly, "because I killed my grandmother."


	18. Chapter 18

-1**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN**

"Good morning, Dr. Cuddy," Debra said excitedly as she put her purse on the chair across from her desk and sat down in the chair beside it.

"Hello, Debra. How are you feeling? Oh, and call me Lisa," she answered as she put her pen down.

"I'm great. I am really looking forward to working with you. Being couped up in the hotel room has been driving me insane. But Jim found a great two bedroom apartment just a few blocks from here; we'll be moving in this weekend. It'll work out great - he'll drive me to work in the mornings and then drive me home at lunch."

"Glad it's working out for you. Now, I know it's only temporary and part-time, but the things I need done around here I am confident you can handle with your admin experience…" Cuddy drolled on about her expectations, which weren't much and easy for Debra to handle. "Fill out the application and W-2 forms and the others and take them to HR. They're on the 3rd floor, east wing."

Debra thanked Cuddy and walked to her new desk, took something out of her duffle bag and put it on her desk.

Two weeks had passed since the three doctors and Debra had their double date. She'd seen House only a few times, but he and Cameron had been seeing more of each other. She was curious how their relationship would be in the office, and was glad she'd be there to see House crumble under Cameron's fingers.

She and Wilson had gotten closer, but not physically. They had grown accustomed to snuggling at night but nothing ever grew out of it. They were content having things the way they were because they both knew she'd be heading for home in a few months.

She finished filling out the forms then headed off for HR.

HOUSE MD HOUSE MD HOUSE MD

"Seventeen year old with heart murmur admitted this morning…" Chase said as he entered the diagnostics room.

"Boring," House said as he turned around with his coffee mug and took a sip.

"Yeah, I knew you'd say that. But she's catatonic and has a rash," he continued.

Foreman looked up mildly interested.

"Okay, still boring," he said as he walked toward his office.

"I'd say it's a case of lupus to me," came a female voice from the doorway as she walked in. "I watch Medical Stories."

"Hey, Debra! Glad to see…"

"Hey! She's my cousin so _hands off, _Chase!" House warned with a serious tone.

"Hey guys. I just came by to see your office, Greg" she said as she followed him into his room.

"This is it. Jacuzzi is coming next week but it's just for me and Cameron," he teased as he sat down behind his desk and she in the chair in front of it.

"Greg, Cameron asked me about Oma when we went clothes shopping yesterday," she said, her voice soft and delicate, considering the subject matter.

He frowned and asked, "You didn't tell her, did you?"

She shook her head adamantly. "No, no, of course not. But…it's bothering her."

"Well, then she can talk to me, can't she?" he snapped as he opened a piece of mail and threw it in the trash.

"Sure, but knowing how much it bothers you…"

"It doesn't bother me."

"Yes, it does. You know I don't blame you, Greg. And you shouldn't either. Actually, your father is to blame, and you two should…"

"Drop it, Debra."

"Okay, sorry. Hey, do you know a good moving company?" she asked. She knew they didn't need one, considering all of Wilson's personal belongings were in storage and the place was already furnished, but she needed something to break the ice.

"No," he said flatly. "Why?"

Debra explained to House that she and Wilson found a two bedroom apartment for them while she was staying there under the doctor's care until she was stable enough for the trip home. She and Wilson thought it best to be honest with him.

"Oh, okay," he simply said.

Debra grew suspicious because Wilson warned her he'd be mad, but he didn't seem to be.

"Well, I'd better get down to _my_ office," she said with a smile as she stood and turned to the door.

"Debra?"

She turned back to him. "Yeah?"

"He's got three ex's, you know?"

Now it was Debra's turn to frown. "I know, he told me."

"You'll grow emotionally dependant on him."

"I know, he told me," she repeated seriously but then smiled. "Greg, don't worry. He's been a good friend. Besides even if we _have_ had sex you'd be to blame."

"Oh, _really_? How do you figure that?"

"Because, you brought us together and now I'm pregnant," she said as she walked out the door.

House thought she was serious, but knew she couldn't be. But, what if she was? _I'll kill him!_


	19. Chapter 19

**_WARNING: This is a LITTLE rated R...more like rated a little r. lol_**

**CHAPTER NINETEEN**

Cameron was also back to work part-time that Monday, but her schedule was in the afternoon. House asked Wilson to pick her up at her place since he was out anyway to drop Debra off at the hotel.

It's not like Cameron _wanted_ to work in the afternoon, she much preferred the mornings, but House gave her plenty of unsubstantiated reasons why she should work the afternoon hours and she didn't have the energy to argue with him. Besides, if House went to pick her up, he'd convince her to have noon sex and then he'd be too tired to go back to work, not House's admission, but Cameron's suspicions.

When Cameron came into work around 1p.m., the boys were out running tests on the 17 year old. House was sitting at his desk in his usual pose: feet on the desk, headphones on, hands clasped in front of him, his head back against the head rest and his eyes closed.

She quietly opened and closed the door between the two rooms, limped with her cane to the side of the desk, trying not to touch him, leaned over and kissed him.

"Anjelina! I _told _you I will NOT have sex with you in my office!" he screamed, not opening his eyes.

Cameron removed the headphones and their eyes met.

"Oh, it's you, darnit. I wanted Anjelina," he said as he picked up his head and gave her another kiss.

"Not in the office, House. I told you…" she teased.

"Hey! You kissed me first!" House squealed.

"Oh, I did, didn't I?" Cameron said then moved to the chair in front of his desk and sat down.

"Any interesting cases?" she asked.

"No."

"Okay. Any interesting _mail_?"

"No. I ordered Chase to throw them all away."

"Okay."

"I know you and Debra talk. Have they had sex yet?"

"House! Why would you even _ask_ me that?"

"Just curious."

"Well, that's pretty pathetic, and NO, they haven't."

It was quiet between them for several moments.

"So, what do I do now?" she asked.

"Get under my desk and…"

"House! NO!" she said then laughed.

"Okay, open today's mail then fill out patient forms for me."

"You've seen patients? Wow, I'm impressed. Fine," she said as she stood and went to the computer desk.

House watched her all the way as she sat down, a grin on his face. She opened a few pieces of mail, set some on the desk while she threw others in the trash. House put his headphones back on, leaned back and opened one eye just wide enough so he could see her but it looked like his eyes were closed.

She opened one piece of mail, looked at it funny, looked up at House, looked back at the letter and pulled out the two small tickets that were in the tri-fold pages. She sighed, wondering who he was going with: maybe he and Debra were going, or maybe Wilson. He knew she didn't particularly care for the group, she didn't really know their music at all, so why would he even consider her?

She walked into his office, laid the tickets on his desk and turned to walk away.

"So, how about it?" House asked.

"I told you I wasn't getting underneath your desk!"

House picked his head up and smiled wickedly. "Oh, I forgot. I don't even think you were born then. Chicago…Trenton Coliseum. Thought you'd want to go with me."

"It's…" Cameron leaned over and read the dates on the stubs. "…Friday night. I don't know…my leg might be hurting and…"

"Take some Vicodin," he said.

"…I may be too tired to…"

"Leave work early and take a nap."

She smiled at him and cocked her head. "Okay, fine."

"Cameron?"

"Yes, House?" she said, the tone in her voice with his name came out as if she were irritated.

"Did you love him?"

She looked at him confused. "Who?"

"Your husband."

"I…wait, why do you want to know?"

"Because you owe me one answer to one of my questions," he said.

"I most certainly do not! Oh, wait, I do, from breakfast." She hesitated a moment before she said, "I loved him, I just don't think I was _in _love with him."

"Okay."

"Okay," Cameron answered and went back to the diagnostics room.

The pain in her leg had been giving her fits, even though she could keep it straight on a box by the chair. She pulled out her bottle of vicodin and laughed at the irony of it: she was beginning to understand House's need for the painkillers.

She popped two in her mouth and swallowed with her Evian. A little panic button set off in her stomach when she realized she only had three more left and the prescription didn't have any refills left on it.

HOUSE MD HOUSE MD HOUSE MD

By Friday, the week went by quickly for Debra, and, although she was tired, even after taking a nap when she got home, she was looking forward to going to the Chicago concert with House, Cameron and Wilson. She was shocked he'd given Wilson two tickets to go with them; she thought the two would want to go alone. But since she'd started working, she and House would have lunch together and Wilson would often join them. They had become quite chummy.

The boys didn't seem to pay any attention to the fact that House and Cameron were now an item. They figured out by mid-week that they had been seeing each other. Chase hadn't even been nasty, considering 'House stole her away from him.' But that didn't mean he wasn't watching them out of the corner of his eye.

Debra was sitting on the bed thinking, waiting for Wilson to come home from work watching Montel. She had a dream about Wilson while she napped, and it disturbed her a little. They were in a bed and breakfast in a small little town of unknown origins and having a real good time. They were laughing and holding one another's hands and kissing. Everything about the whole dream was very…romantic and intimate.

"_Debra..will you…"_

"Hey, Debra! Sorry I'm late. Let me just…"

Debra was snapped out of her thoughts when Wilson came into the room. "What's wrong?" he asked alarmed.

"Nothing, nothing. I was just thinking. Fine, I'm ready to go when you are," she said, her voice a little shaky.

Wilson grabbed fresh clothes and went into the bathroom. "We're gonna get drinks afterwards, if you're up for it! I thought we'd celebrate moving in tomorrow," Wilson yelled from the bathroom right before he turned on the water.

"Sure, sounds great," she hollered back.

And suddenly it came to her. She had to have him. There was nothing she could give him to thank him for all she's done for him, well, there was, but it sounded like such a good idea at the time.

She took off her blouse and jeans, sans bra and underwear, and sneaked into the bathroom. She quietly opened the door and walked up to the tub. She grabbed a corner of the shower curtain and pulled it back, watching him. His back was facing her, the water cascading down his face and she smiled.

"Need your back washed?" she asked.

He jumped a little and turned to look at her, dropping the soap.

"Debra! What are…" Wilson thought a minute, actually, a millisecond, smiled at her then said, "yes, sure."

Wilson turned to face her as she got into the tub, holding out his hand to help her and stood in front of him. He couldn't help but look at her scar, which was still in the process of healing. He ran a wet finger over the scar, in between her breasts, closer to her left one. She was really nervous about him seeing it, let alone touch it.

She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, the nervousness no longer there, for the both of them. Wilson leaned in and kissed her, softly and sweetly. She rubbed her hands against his wet back and traced her fingernails up to his shoulder blades. She felt goose bumps spring up on his arms as they embraced and she laughed to herself.

That told her one thing: that he felt for her what she felt for him. And it felt, 'right'.

Debra pulled her head back and said, "We'd better hurry."

"Sorry, but I don't hurry things like this," he told her and they laughed.

She knelt down and picked up the soap and the washcloth, soaping it up and grinned at him. She ran it over his chest, waist, and told him to turn around. She delicately washed his back, legs, everything. When she got to his ass, she pretended to drop the washcloth and rubbed it with her bare hand.

"Hey! Your hand is cold!" he screamed and they laughed again.

Debra stepped out of the shower, Wilson followed her and she handed him his towel, stood back and watched him dry off, with a huge smile on her face. When he was done, he took her hand, led her to the bed, and set her down gently on her back, settling in beside her.

"Debra, you know, I've wanted this for so long, _you _for so long, since we first met, I think," he told her, a little embarrassed.

She kissed him and pulled him to her, loving the feel and smell of his freshly clean skin against hers. Wilson ran his hand over her stomach, bringing it up to her breasts. She inhaled deeply at his touch.

After several minutes of touching and caressing and kissing the other, Wilson finally slid himself into her wet orifice. She moaned softly at the sensation, and she knew she wanted him for probably just as long as she did.

He finally came, his legs tensed straight and he held himself up with his arms so as not to put any pressure on her chest. She kissed him passionately then collapsed beside him. She rolled over and cuddled with him as they'd done very night the past few weeks.

"Maybe we should have gotten a one bedroom," she said then laughed. "And hurry up, mister! If we are late meeting up with Greg and Allison they'll know we did something bad."

"Bad?! That was bad?!" he said as he laughed and sat up.

"Oh, hardly. Now, get!" she said, laughing along with him.


	20. Chapter 20

_**A/N: I replaced Chap 16 after House woke up in Cam's apt because Limaccia called me on it! Well, didn't **_**call**_** me, but pointed it out. :o) It makes MUCH more sense and I hope makes a little more sense of his thoughts. Ok, enjoy! And thanks sooo much for the reviews!!! Steph OH, and here's the Oma explanation!!!**_

**CHAPTER TWENTY**

"And when I was in my second year of college I dated this guy named Ralph Painter," Debra said, trying to control her laughter from their game of 'If so-and-so married so-and-so they'd be Mrs. So-and-so.'

It was just rounding midnight and they were working on their third round of drinks at Charlie's Bar & Grill – Scotch, Heineken, Screwdriver and Coke. They'd just come from the Chicago concert and were all having a real good time.

"You didn't marry him, did you?" Cameron asked. "I mean, Mrs. Debra House Painter?"

"I know! And no, but that's the only reason why I _didn't_ marry him."

"I dated a girl that had a kid she named Wilson. But when I asked her to marry me she said she didn't want her kid named Wilson Wilson, just like Wilson on Home Improvement," he said, and Debra bust out laughing, held her stomach and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Hey!" House finally chimed in. "I dated this girl named Marcia Brick," he said seriously then drank his Scotch.

"Stop it!" Cameron screamed, covered her mouth, hit her hand on the table which made the glasses jump and spilling a few drops.

"Mrs. Dr. Marcia Brick House? Come on, I don't believe that!" Wilson said incredulously.

"That's a fact! And holding nothing back cuz she's a Brick…HOWZE!" House started to sing. "But it's true! I still have her number. Do you want it?" House asked Wilson seriously. Cameron flashed him dirty look but House only winked.

"Uh, no, actually…" Wilson said then looked at Debra and winked at her. "…I think I have who I want."

"Oh, please! You're gonna make me sick…wait, hold the phone!" House said with a Shrek Scottish accent then set his glass down on the table. He looked at Debra then Wilson then back at Debra. Eyes darted back and forth between the four for several seconds.

"Hurt her and your DEAD, Wilson!" House said seriously then smiled a very fake one, but still conveyed he was serious.

"Well, right after Oma died I…" Debra stopped herself because she knew how sensitive House was about their grandmother.

"Hey, well, you know what?" Wilson spoke up. He could now tell when Debra had enough from her complexion becoming pale and her eyes a little glazy. "We have to move tomorrow and we have to get up early to check out," Wilson said as he stood.

"Oh, it'll take you all morning to put the toothbrush and your hair dryer in a box, huh?" House said kind of sarcastic.

Debra knew she'd touched a nerve, stood and gave him a hug. She whispered in his ear, "Sorry 'bout that, cuz." When she stood back up she thanked him for the concert and promised House and Cameron she'd invite them over for dinner.

That left just House and Cameron alone to finish their drinks. With the mention of his grandmother it piqued her curiosity again, but she didn't want to ruin the night by asking him more about her.

House seemed to be reading her mind. He finished the last swig of the Scotch, took a deep breath, and told her about his grandmother.

"I just started my second year residency and Oma – grandma – got real ill. The doctors couldn't find what was wrong with her, but I thought I knew what it was. The tests I ran were inconclusive but I wanted to start her on Methaltrisate, which you know needs consent for it.

"Oma agreed; she didn't have any problem with it. She always had faith in me but…" His voice choked and Cameron could see how difficult it was for him to talk about it.

"Anyway, Dad had a real issue with the side effects and he refused to have it

administered to her. He wouldn't even listen to her and what she wanted, but when he left I talked with her, and she told me not to let Dad get to me, and that she wanted the medication.

"One of his brothers let it slip that she signed the papers and Dad was furious." He shook his head as if it were a bad nightmare he was relaying. Cameron was very attentive to what he was saying and slid the chair closer to him as he spoke.

"Dad convinced her not to and then came after _me_ for it."

House stood, walked to the bar, ordered a drink and downed the shot in one swallow; his face grimaced with the painful memory as well as the burn in his chest from the alcohol burning his throat. Cameron watched him through the mirror that was behind the bar and she wiped a tear that had fallen out of the corner of her eye.

He came back and sat down, staring at his fingers tapping another empty glass.

"What happened?" she asked; her voice soft and sympathetic.

"I gave it to her anyway. Dad got mad, Oma got better, end of story," he said as he shrugged his shoulder.

Cameron frowned at him and wanted to hold him, but she knew he hated PDA, or any type of affection whatsoever, well, aside from sex. But it wasn't the time or place.

"No, it's not. What happened when your father found out?"

He looked around the room uncomfortably and avoided eye contact with her. In a voice so small, Cameron had to practically put her ear to his mouth as he said, "Threw me up against the wall for disobeying him."

Tenderly she put her hand on his cheek then quickly removed it, placing it on his knee instead.

"Did he hurt you?" she asked after several minutes.

"Not physically."

"And your grandma was okay? That's what she wanted, House. That wasn't your father's call."

He nodded his head in agreement. "She died three days later from a stroke."

Cameron was taken aback. Of all that he told her she wasn't expecting that.

"Of course, Dad came after me and blamed me. Her physician told Dad with Mom and I in the room that it was unavoidable and in no way affiliated with the Cellular Myoloma. Dad didn't hear it that way. I was right, Cameron. And he didn't listen to me. I did the right thing."

House looked down out of shame but Cameron stood up, grabbed her purse, went to the bar to pay the tab and went back to House.

"Come on, it's getting late."

It took House a second for her words to register in his brain and he stood up, grabbed his cane, and the two hobbled out of Charlie's, hand in hand.

HOUSE MD HOUSE MD HOUSE MD

When they got back to House's apartment, Cameron was in the bedroom changing into his favorite negligee he liked her to wear while House was in the bathroom. After she was done and he wasn't back yet, she locked the door and turned off the lights in the living room and walked by the bathroom door.

Before she heard anything she knocked on the door and asked if everything was coming out all right.

He answered 'yes,' but she could tell his nose was stopped up and heard a barrage of hiccups that masked his sobs. It killed her to hear him like that – she'd seen him cry from pain with his leg and that was it. She'd _never_ heard him cry over anything else.

"House, I'm coming in," she said as she turned the doorknob and opened it.

"No…don't…"

There on the toilet seat was House, in his boxers, slunched over with his arms over his stomach and his head down practically in his lap.

"House…Greg…oh, god."

She rushed to him and put her hands on his forearms, trying to make him look at her. A tear fell from his eye and he went to wipe it away.

"Cam…go away," he said, wiping the tear away and sniffed, to keep the snot from falling out of his nose, but it only produced and gnarly sounding gurgle.

"No, I won't. Oh, it wasn't your fault, Greg," she said trying to comfort him. She brushed a bit of his hair away off his forehead.

"Cameron, I said go AWAY!"

House pushed Cameron back hard and she landed against the tub, her head flung back but she got control of herself again. House's eyes flew open at what he'd just done. He'd never been more ashamed in his life.

He wiped his nose on his arm and knelt down beside her, more tears coming into his eyes.

"Allison…I'm…sorry, oh, please…"

Cameron wasn't hurt at all, and was more understanding with him than she should have been. She reached up and put his face in her hands, pulled him toward her and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Help me up, will you?" she asked, forcing a reassuring smile that she just knew he wouldn't buy.

He stood and held out his arm, she grabbed his hand and he pulled her up.

"Run some cold water on your face. It'll make you feel better," she told him and silently walked out of the bathroom.

When she heard the water start to run, she walked to the bureau, grabbed her Vicodin and realized there was only one left and she hadn't put in the refill yet. The way her leg was feeling, and now her back from kissing the tub, she knew she needed more than just 5mg.

Cameron looked around the room and remembered House's bottle was in his pants pocket. Looking toward the bathroom listening at the water still running, she hurried to his pants on the floor and dropped one out into her palm then swallowed it. Then she thought better of it and took three total.

Just then the water was turned off and she hurriedly put them back in the pocket and sat on the bed, waiting for him to come in. When he did, he still didn't look at her. He walked to his pants, pulled out his bottle and shook out two pills, dry swallowed them then looked at the bottle funny.

House _knew_ he should have ten pills, but there were only seven. Any chronic pain sufferer will tell you they know exactly how many pills they have at all times and when the next refill was due. He finally looked at Cameron with suspicion but didn't say anything. He didn't have the strength to talk.

He turned off the light and crawled into bed with Cameron, but then turned on his side away from her. She knew he was hurting and she wanted his pain to go away, but she knew that would never happen. All she could do was comfort him.

She slid over, pressed her chest against his back, buried her face in his neck, wrapped her right arm around his waist with her hand over his chest and gave him a little squeeze. A minute later House sighed heavily and put his left hand over hers.

Cameron didn't say a word. No word was even necessary at the moment. House just needed her to hold him like she was, because that made him feel secure, like everything was going to be okay.

But what he didn't know was that while Cameron had been using a cane for her broken right leg, she'd been taking an extra vicodin pill here, an extra one there, and now she was taking some from House.

She was in a heap of trouble.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_A/N: Remember when the patient, House and Wilson were in Atlantic City and House wanted his dad to say, "you were right...you did the right thing."... that's what this was what House was talking about! I hope it made sense. It's been in my head for I don't know how long. lol_


	21. Chapter 21

**CHAPTER TWENTY - ONE**

"Good morning, Debra," Cuddy said as she came into her office, dropped off manila folders and three tapes on Debra's desk and started to walk to her office. "I need those transcipts by tomorrow morning and can you get me the Laurie patient file and…oh, wait, what am I forgetting…"

"Dr. Scranton is coming in at 9:30 for your appointment, here are those two files you asked for yesterday and…here's your coffee," Debra said as she handed Cuddy a cup.

"Debra, you are fantastic. Are you sure you don't want to move here to Jersey and work full time for me?" she asked as she took the folders and cup from Debra with a smile.

"Oh, I'd love to, but, you know, working in the same building with your famous diagnostician is dragging me down," Debra answered jokingly.

"Oh, tell me about it." Cuddy took a deep breath then leaned against the wall. "Debra, you've been a big help to me and I'm sure you're ready to go home."

"Actually, Dr. Cuddy, I really don't want to. I have issues," she said trying to be funny but Cuddy picked up on it.

"You still haven't talked to your parents about why they never came down to see you?"

"No, and I'm not sure I want to talk to them." Debra hesitated a moment before she said, "You know, I think I'm going to think real hard about your offer."

"Good," Cuddy said as she turned to walk out.

"Dr. Cuddy, I'm going to the bathroom. I'll be back in five," she said as she grabbed her purse, a small paper bag and walked toward the door.

"Fine, but I've told you more than once to call me Lisa," she hollered out from behind her desk.

"Yep, and I've told you more than twice that during office hours you are Dr. Cuddy," she said with a smile on her face as she walked out.

Debra's heart was pounding as she walked to the ladies bathroom.

_Please be negative…please be negative._

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Three months had passed since Jerry had been to Jersey and wrecked havoc on the PPTH team. Debra and Wilson settled into their apartment and had become very close, so close that they were now sharing the same bed. Debra had been going back and forth about whether she wanted to stay in Jersey or go back home and she was incredibly torn.

House and Cameron had carried on their relationship as best as they could. It's not that they weren't getting along, nor was it that Cameron was pressuring him for more.

At the beginning of their relationship she'd stay at his apartment about twice a week, but that dwindled down to nothing the past three weeks. House wanted her there, but he had just gotten so comfortable with her that it scared him, though he couldn't put his finger on why. House crawled back into his shell further, and further from her.

Cameron knew House well enough that she shouldn't push him, and she never did. They worked together very well, but with an occasional moment of awkwardness between them in the office.

Ever since the night he lost it over his grandmother he kept hearing Debra telling him to talk to his father, but it wasn't House that should start it; as far as he was concerned his father should talk, apologize and 'tell him he was right,' and that her death wasn't his fault.

But Cameron, bless her heart, never brought up the subject, and neither had Debra. But then again, he hadn't seen Debra outside of the hospital. Even the lunches with her and Wilson started to slip and had become non-existent.

But it never bothered Debra because she had Wilson and Cameron to tell her what House was up to. She even stopped visiting House in his office and he only dropped by to yell at Cuddy, or have Cuddy yell at him. She couldn't have been happier, though.

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An hour later, Dr. Scranton left Cuddy's office and Debra waved him goodbye. She watched him walk out the door and saw House walk toward Cuddy's office but looked down at her paperwork. That had been the norm lately; he never came by to see _her_. When she heard the door open she didn't even look up. She wasn't angry, just a little hurt, but overall felt fine with it. She wanted to be a part of House's life, but Wilson warned her not to push him; that he'd come to her when he was ready.

"Lunch," he said as he snuck his head in the door, looking at the teddy bear on her desk she'd given him then he'd given to her.

Debra looked up and said, "It's only 10:30."

"I'm hungry."

"I'm not and I've got work to do. You know how strict Dr. Cuddy can be."

"Yeah, I know," he said. "Lunch."

"Greg! I…"

Suddenly Cuddy's voice echoed through the room, "Take him to lunch. He's getting on my nerves."

"Thanks, boss," House hollered out to her. "Come on."

Debra sighed and grabbed her purse. "Okay, but I'm not buying." She squeezed by him and they walked down the hall to the elevator.

"Yes, you are."

"I am what?" she asked.

"You're buying lunch."

"Fine, cheap skate!"

"I'm not cheap, I'm just short changed," House said as they got on and the doors closed behind them.

"Nope, cheap."

The two were quiet from the time they got off the elevator to the time they sat down in the cafeteria. House dove into his egg, bacon and cheese burrito while Debra just pushed food around on her plate; House didn't miss that, either.

"So, when's the big day?" House asked.

She looked up at him confused. "Greg, Jim hasn't asked me to mar…"

"I know, I know. When are you due?"

She looked at him dumfounded. How in the _hell _did he know?

"I'm not pregnant," she said, unconvincingly.

"Oh, come on, Deb! _Hello!_ I'm a doctor! I know when a woman is pregnant."

"How?"

House leaned back in his chair and scrutinized his cousin. "Let's see…there's the spew, aka morning sickness right before work. There's the pregnant glow said with his face contorting to make fun of that fact that is so bright Cuddy doesn't need a light in her office. And there's…"

"Alright, alright. I took an EPT test an hour ago…wait. You saw me go in and checked the trash, didn't you?"

"No! Of course."

"Liar."

"Yeah, I lied. What are you going to do?"

"Greg, how do I know?! I just found out an hour ago. Geez! You barely talk to me anymore and then you badger me about…"

House leaned in over the table a bit and said genuinely, "Debra, I know how you're doing. If I pestered you about how you were when I already knew how you were then I'd be pestering you…wait, that didn't make sense, did it?"

"I'll…have to talk to Jim. Greg, please don't tell him until I can, ok?"

House nodded his head; too bad he'd already told Wilson his suspicions. Wilson told him he couldn't father a child. House scoffed at him. Wilson insisted after three marriages he'd at least have had one kid. House scoffed again.

"So, do you want to be called Father or Daddy?"


	22. Chapter 22

**CHAPTER TWENTY – TWO**

Later that night…

"I want pancakes."

"Make 'em yourself."

"But honey," House whined. "I almost burned your kitchen down before."

"Oh, is that why you wanted to stay at my place?" she sighed. "Fine, whiner," Cameron mumbled as she sat up in bed.

"Come here," House whispered.

"Hey! You just said you wanted…"

"I want you," he said sheepishly.

"That doesn't make me feel any better," she said as she lay on her side beside him.

"I can make you feel better," he purred.

"Oh, you already have, twice. Be right back, I have to go to the bathroom."

Cameron walked to the living room first and took her bottle of Vicodin off from the top of the cabinet behind a ceramic figurine. She put two in her mouth and downed them with water on the table. Her stomach hurt, her head hurt. Her leg would stop hurting in a minute. But it wasn't her leg, really. It never had been. She could never have imagined she'd have gotten as bad as she was; somehow it just made her feel…better, calmer. But she wasn't as bad as House was. She was only doing 50mg a day, a far cry from House's 80mg, but bad for her. It was out of control. _Way _out of control.

"You know, your leg shouldn't be hurting after two months," came House's voice from the bedroom doorway.

She turned around so fast she almost dropped the bottle but gained control of herself. "House, you…"

He took several steps toward her and stopped just a few feet short of touching her, grabbed the bottle out of her hand and looked at the name of the medication.

"You have been taking some of mine, too." It was silent between them for a moment. "And _you_ have a problem."

"Look, it's no big deal, really."

"No big deal? Come on! Do I look like a moron or do I just _smell_ like one? But I'm impressed. I didn't start to hide mine until three years."

She looked at him speechless.

"Cameron, look, you don't need it. It'll be easy for you to get off it…"

"Really, you think?"

"Why? I don't get it."

"Yeah, well, neither do I," she said, burying her face in her hands.

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Wilson walked into the door of the apartment and hollered out for Debra. There was no answer. He went to the bathroom but she wasn't in the tub, nor was she sleeping in bed.

"Debra! Where are you?"

He walked back to the living room and noticed something moving outside on the balcony. He went out to her.

"Hey, babe. I've been hollering for you. Why didn't you…" Wilson stopped because he noticed a tear fall from her cheek. "What's wrong?"

She didn't look at him but only sniffed and wiped her nose. "Jim, I'm…I'm…"

Wilson knew it was coming, he just didn't know when. After House said she was pregnant he didn't believe her. At first he thought it was because he didn't _want _to believe it because he didn't want to make Debra his ex-wife number four. But he knew it couldn't have been his.

He wrapped his arm around her waist and held her close. She put her head on his shoulder and let him hold her. After a few minutes she composed herself and looked up at him.

"Jim, I'm pregnant," she finally said.

"Debra," he said with a smile. "How far along?"

"Just shy of two months."

Wilson calculated in his head where they were and whether they'd had sex yet.

"That would have been the first time…the night we went to see Chicago."

"Yeah, I know."

"I can't…Debra, I'm infertile."

She looked up at him in shock. "Jim, I've never…it's not Jer…it's yours."

Wilson pulled her away from him and shook her, as if that would make her tell him it wasn't his.

"You…you think it's not yours? James, how could you say that?! How could you _think_ that?" she screamed, stepping back from him and running her fingers through her hair, as Wilson often did.

"How do you know you're infertile? It's possible a few…"

"No, it's not," Wilson replied, his soul crushed.

Tears rolled down her face as Debra went back into the apartment, headed for the bedroom and slammed the door. Wilson followed her and stood at the door, his heart sunk when he heard the door lock.

He stood by the door, his head against the door, his eyes closed, his eyes beginning to tear.


	23. Chapter 23

**CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE**

"Fine, I'll quit taking 'em. I don't need them anyway," Cameron continued her defense of why she was taking them.

"Okay, but why?"

"Why quit taking them?"

"No, Cameron. Stop being dense. Why did you start taking them in the first place? I mean, how did you let it get this far?" House wasn't really upset; he was more baffled than anything.

"At first I did need them for my leg, and eventually the pain got better. But I was taking the Vicodin three times a day by then, and when the pain stopped all together I would still take them."

"Okay," House said as he sat down beside her on the couch. "I can understand _my _need for them, but why you?"

"I don't know. We started seeing each other and everything was great, but then you pushed yourself away from me again and somehow taking the…"

"Cameron, I never promised anything."

She looked up at him confused. "And I never asked for anything. It's just – it was going so well, you know? I was afraid…" she hesitated a moment.

"Afraid of what? I wouldn't hurt…"

"No, no," Cameron said as she wiped a tear that had fallen down her cheek. "I'm just…happy, I guess, and that never lasts long with me."

House put his arm around her waist. "Allison, there's no guarantee in anything, especially relationships. I can't tell you what'll happen, and I can't tell you where we'll end up, but let's just enjoy it for what it is, okay?"

Cameron tried to laugh at her stupidity and it seemed to dry the tears from her eyes.

House wasn't ready to say this, yet, and he never planned to, but he put his hand on her head, pushed her head onto his shoulder and lay back against the couch. "I only told Stacy once that I loved her, and that was before they put me in the drug induced coma after my infarction. That was after we'd been living together a couple of years."

She cocked her head up to look at him. "Did you…love her, I mean?"

"Of course I did. But there was so much resentment I held against her for…doing what I asked her not to. Even after all that there will always be a part of her in me and I'm glad for that…"

"House, what are you trying so say?"

"I'm trying to say that I don't see any reason why I wouldn't be able to say it again," House finally let out, and he wasn't sure how he felt about it.

"Oh, sure, you'd say it to Anjelina to get into her pants," she joked.

"No, I'd say it to get into _your _pants."

"But you've already _been_ in my pants," Cameron said, somewhat relieved that she got just a little bit of his heart from him, finally.

"Just bare with me, Cameron, will you…_can_ you?"

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Early the next morning Debra woke up in her bed alone, and at first she wondered where Wilson was, but then it came back to her and she felt like crap. She knew she hadn't been with anyone, but he swore he couldn't get a woman pregnant, but it w_as _possible, it had to be; she hadn't been with anyone else. It hurt her that he thought she'd been with someone else, more so than House making himself scarce.

She got up, used the bathroom then went to the extra bedroom to talk to Wilson. But he wasn't there. She hadn't even looked to see what time it was, and when she looked at the clock in the living room she realized he'd already be at work and she'd be later herself. She called Cuddy and told her she'd be in for work within an hour.

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"Debra, are you okay?" Cuddy asked when Debra walked into her office.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure? Because you've been looking a little peaked lately."

"Is my job performance suffering?" Debra snapped then apologized when she heard how nasty she sounded.

She told Cuddy she was pregnant but that Wilson didn't believe he was the father and asked her if there were any doctors in the hospital they could talk to that could verify it was possible. She wrote down a name and his number.

Now, all Debra had to do was talk to Wilson. She didn't want to lose him, and she wasn't going to lose him, not as far as she was concerned.

When Debra talked with Wilson on the way home, he seemed to be back to his normal self.

"Debra, I'm sorry I didn't believe you. I already talked to Dr. Jacobs and he said the chances of what happened was like one in a million shot."

She looked at him anxiously. "Jim, what are the chances of me carrying the baby to full term?"

He looked at her confused when they stopped at a stop light. "The chances are very good. I made sure I asked him…"

"And what are the chances that I'd survive a natural delivery?" she asked, somewhat forlorn.

"Debra, your body accepted the heart very well and there's no reason not to think that you can't deliver a healthy baby and be okay yourself."

Debra mulled over what he said the rest of the way to the apartment. They went inside and Debra got into her sweats and met Wilson in the living room.

"You want some tea?" she asked, suddenly seemingly very tired.

"No, thanks. Debra, we need to talk."

She rolled her eyes, more so to herself then sat down beside him on the couch.

"Are you thinking of having an abortion? You are still in the first trimester and…"

Debra looked away to avoid his eyes. She _had _been considering an abortion, for the sake of the baby. There were just too many unknowns for her and she couldn't be sure if the baby would be born mentally competent.

"Yes, I have, but…"

"Debra, don't you _dare_!" Wilson barked then soon caught himself with his tone. He sure didn't need to upset her now.

"Jim, how can you say that? There's no guarantee the baby would survive, and with my heart I might not either."

"And there's no guarantee you and the baby won't survive. You can't…"

Debra's heart broke. She didn't want to hurt Wilson, not like this.

"How can I ask you to choose between the baby and me, if it came to that? I just can't do that to you."

"Who says I'll _have_ to choose? You don't know the medical improvements they've made."

"No, I can't ask you to do that. I've already talked to the ob/gyn."

Wilson stood up and was livid. He couldn't believe she was doing this to him. But he did know she didn't want to hurt him; she chose what she thought was best.

"Debra, let's talk to him first, okay? First thing in the morning."

"Okay, fine, whatever," she said as she stood and headed for the bedroom.

She stopped, turned and asked, "Jim, I need you."

Wilson stood and walked to her and held her in a deep embrace. "I'm not going anywhere, Deb. I need you, too."

**xxxxxxxxxxxx**


	24. Chapter 24

_Okay, just a heads up….in chapter 23 Debra and Wilson discussed the baby and decided to keep it, and that they'd try natural childbirth if it were possible for Debra. Cameron gave House a break and they're taking it one day at a time. Nothing much happened between the others. _

_I am now jumping three months in the future again because I don't like to have too many chapters and I want to wrap this one up. Debra is now six months pregnant, too. This will be the last fun thing the gang ever does wink wink_

_So, just bare with me, okay??_

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR**

"House, just look at them, will you?" Cuddy fussed at House as he glanced at the cruise brochure that lay on her desk. "You never used the tickets I gave you and you, we all deserve…"

"But I get seasick," House whined.

"They have Dramamine. Now, the only thing we have to decide is which island we want to go to, either Bermuda or the Bahamas."

"I'll get sunburned."

"Put on some suntan lotion. Now, I can get you and Wilson in a room…"

"I'm pretty sure the girls will want a room so they can ravish us. I don't wanna share a room…"

"Will you shut up!! I mean two rooms – one for you and Cameron and one for Wilson and Debra. Chase and Foreman can have their own room and I'll have my own room."

"Oh, really? Hoping to get lucky with the captain? Knowing your luck he'll look like Captain Stubbing."

"Ha! Bald men are sexy! That Sean Connery with that accent of his…" Cuddy fanned herself for dramatic affect.

"Oh, please. Can I tell…"

Suddenly the door opened and Debra escorted Wilson, Cameron, Chase and Foreman into the room, where they sat in any available chair; of course, Chase had to stand because they were all taken. Cuddy stood and leaned against the front of her desk.

"Okay, House and I have been discussing…"

"Cuddy wants to shag Sean Connery!" House teased her.

Cuddy sighed, ignored him and continued. "…a four day cruise to…" She hesitated a moment as she thought of which island to choose. "…the Bahamas."

Cameron's mouth dropped, Foreman smiled, Chase looked at Cuddy bewildered, and Wilson looked at Debra and winked.

"Oh, Debra! We'll have to go clothes shopping and you don't have a formal for the one formal dinner, do you?"

"Oh, please! No girlie talk amongst us mortal men beings!" House said.

"Anyway, I've already got doctors to take the load of patients and we'll be leaving in two weeks. Any objections?"

"Uh, no!" they all cried out.

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"Welcome aboard the Golden Princess! Smile!" the man told House and Cameron as they got their picture taken in front of the life preserver off the plank that led to the lobby, or galley, of the ship.

House grumbled so Cameron grabbed him and pulled him to her, but House still didn't smile. So, she reached under his loose fitting Hawaiian shirt and pinched his butt cheek, which caused him to push his hips out and finally smiled.

Chase and Foreman stayed in Baltimore the night before in the Inner Harbor and were probably already on board, and Cuddy was behind them and would arrive in about an hour.

Wilson and Debra got their picture taken as well and they entered the ship's galley.

"Oh, my god! Look at those chandeliers! They're beaut…" Cameron gushed.

"I know! Those stairs! They've got to be gold or something, because of her name," Debra said.

"Oh, god. Is this what we have to look forward to for four days?" House grunted to Wilson.

"Shut up, will you! You will NOT moan, groan, grunt, complain, make any snarkish comments, give fed-up facial expressions…" Cameron started to say but House interrupted her.

"But, what about the first three? That's not fair! I do those when we have sex; I can't help it."

Debra leaned in and whispered in Wilson's ear, "God, is _that_ what we have to listen to the whole trip?"

"I hope not," Wilson said and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Okay, guys, we've been driving all morning and I just want to get in the room, take a shower and relax," Debra said with a little yawn.

"Uh, dearest cousin, with that huge stomach of yours you may not fit in the stall," House said jokingly but it didn't come out that way.

"Look, dearest _cousin_, I may not be able to fit in the stall because of this little creature growing in my stomach, but at least my head isn't big like yours that will probably prevent you from fitting in it!" Debra shot back as she hit him on the forearm.

House looked at Debra shocked at first, rubbed his arm, his upper lip curled and he smiled. "Touche'"

"Come on, guys!" Cameron said and led them down the galley to the elevators to their rooms.

A few minutes later, after they got off the eighth deck, called the Golden Peacock deck, they looked for their room numbers. Cameron found their room and pushed in the door before looking at the door next door to see Wilson opening the door for Debra and they went inside their rooms.

"Oh, this is much more spacious than I thought it'd be!" Debra said as she went in and threw her small duffle back on the desk. The room was indeed spacious: the small closet was immediately to the left, which was open and their two suitcases were already there, the bathroom was immediately to the right.

"Oh, I can fit in here!" she exclaimed as she walked in and looked at the counter and the stall, which would fit two people in easily.

Wilson walked further into the room. Against the wall on the left was a long desk with a t.v. and several shelves in the corner with water glasses. The double bed was across from it and a couch with coffee table was beside it.

Debra walked out of the bathroom and when she saw the balcony door she rushed to it and opened it. "This is great! Oh, god, I can't wait to be out here when we're at sea."

"Debra! Is that you?! Isn't this _great?!_" Cameron said on the balcony right next to theirs.

"Oh, can I see your room?" Debra asked between the white wall of the balcony.

An hour later they came back to their rooms after the fire drill that was required before any cruise departed. Cameron wanted to change before they went to the upper deck for the departure.

House sat on the bed and watched Cameron change into clean shorts and a light blouse.

"When is the formal dinner?" she asked, trying to give him something else to look at, hoping he'd look at the brochure on the bed.

"I really don't care when it is," House answered honestly. "Come here."

Cameron slipped the blouse over her head and walked toward House. "What?"

"Come here," he repeated.

She bent over, just enough so that House could grab her and pulled her to the bed beside him.

"House, I'm too tired and just want to…"

Cameron's words were cut off by his lips on hers and she melted. She put her hand on his forearm and scooted closer to him.

"Are you relaxed yet?" she asked as she ran her thumb under his chin.

"I will be after you make me…"

Just then there was a knock on the door.

"Greg, Allison, get out here! The ship'll be pulling out in five minutes!" Debra said as she kept banging on the door. She knew it would drive him nuts, and that's the only reason why she did it.

"Okay! Okay! Coming! Stop it!" House yelled as he went to open the door.

Standing in the hallway were Wilson and Debra, arms around the other, Cuddy, Chase and Foreman.

"Look who we found!" Debra said as she nodded at the three late comers.

"Oh, great. Cuddy, I thought you said you were going to put them on another ship?!"


	25. Chapter 25

_**WARNING: this chapter is rated R+, almost MA for sexual content. Again, it is NOT meant to be trashy, but I just so envision the scene and couldn't leave out any detail.**_

_**I did notice I posted Chap 23 twice but I fixed it. Thanks, Dragon, for pointing that out.**_

_**Ok, for those that are thinking the timing is off…I'm having the ship take one day to get to the Bahamas, two days there then one day back. I think it's actually longer.**_

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE**

Later that night, Debra and Wilson were in their room by 9:00 p.m. because Debra was exhausted, mainly from lack of sleep and mainly because of her pregnancy. They were sitting on the bed in each other's arms watching t.v., which displayed different activities they could choose when they got to the Bahamas.

Wilson rolled over and Debra fussed at him, but he was back just a second later after grabbing something from inside the top drawer. Wilson stood up, helped Debra to sit up, got on his right knee and gently took her hand and brought it to him.

"Debra…marry me?"

Debra didn't hear all the words between her name and the last two words. He had asked her to marry him when they got on the island. She squealed, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately.

"Jimmy, I love you," she giggled.

Wilson took the ring and slipped it on her right ring finger. "Well?"

"You're not supposed to put the ring on my finger until _after _I say yes," she teased.

He looked at her disappointed in himself that he did it wrong, and after three proposals one would think he'd have it down pat by then.

"Oh, stop. I'm teasing. The 'I love you' was a yes, by the way."

"I love you, too!"

She suddenly inhaled deeply and grabbed her stomach. "Oh! I think he heard! He just kicked for the first time!" she said gleefully.

Wilson excitedly put his hand on her stomach and waited for him to kick again. When it didn't he said, "How do you know it's a boy?"

"I don't. Do you want to know?" Wilson asked.

"No, do you?" she asked, afraid he would.

"Nope. I'll be happy whether it's a boy or a…OH! There's one! How cool!"

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House and Cameron were checking out the rest of the ship and when they saw the putt-putt course he couldn't contain himself.

"Come on!" he said as he grabbed her and pulled her toward the counter to get the clubs and ball. "If I win, I get to…" He whispered in her ear and she blushed then hit him on the forearm.

"I don't think so! There's no way!"

"Then you'll just have to win, won't you?"

"And what I want is…" She whispered in his ear and he smiled wickedly.

"Okay, that I can handle."

The two played a very competition game of golf and Cameron actually beat House by one put.

"Cheater!" House whined as they headed back to their rooms.

"Hey, I beat you fair and square," she said as they got on the elevator.

Another couple got on just as the doors almost closed. House and Cameron stood in the back giggling because they both knew what was in store for them when they got back to the room.

"I wonder what Chase and Foreman are doing," she said.

"Chase is probably getting as many names and phone numbers as he can so he can…"

"House! Stop it!" Cameron said, laughing. "Be nice, will ya?"

"Nope, don't wanna."

A few minutes later, Cameron just stepped out of the shower and wrapped the towel around her waist then combed through her hair.

"Will you get out here, woman!" House hollered impatiently.

She smiled and walked out, clicking off the light as she stepped into the room. House was smiling at her wickedly, sitting on his left side and his right knee bent up, his right arm resting on it. She walked to the end of the bed, threw off the towel and turned, heading for the balcony. House watched her the entire way.

She got to the balcony ledge and leaned over, showing off her perky, round ass cheeks. The moon was high in the sky to the front of the ship, and towards the back, many miles away, were flashes of lightning from a distant thunderstorm. House was by her side in two seconds flat, also leaning over the edge.

"Isn't it absolutely beautiful?" Cameron asked amazed.

"Nope."

"No? How can you say th…"

Once again, House shut her up by planting his warm lips on hers, tightening her upper lip between his and put his hand on her waist, pulling her to him. They kissed long, hard yet passionately. She turned to him and they held each other, still kissing. With the warm Atlantic's ocean breeze rushing past them with the speed of the ship, and the warmth of his kisses, a chill ran through her. House pulled her closer and put his hands on her lower back.

She pulled at the elastic waist of his shorts and pulled them down to his feet effortlessly. She cupped both of his ass cheeks in her hands and squeezed. House laughed softly in her mouth. Cameron pulled him toward the full length chaise lounges and he sat down, very ungracefully. He stretched his legs out and Cameron straddled him, sitting on his penis that was already hard and stiff. She slowly rode him, her back arched back and her breasts out for him to hold onto, which he alternated between his titties and her hips.

"Now, _this_ is the kind of view I like," he said sheepishly before he lost his breath from her rotating her hips suddenly.

The chair groaned under the action but it didn't matter to either one of them. Cameron's breath grew harder and faster and she groaned quietly. Cameron leaned in and put her hands on his shoulders for leverage, and penetrated him even deeper. She kissed his neck, lightly licking his ear lobe until she felt his penis vibrant inside her.

That only sent her deeper into the heaven she was in and she rode him harder and faster, bucking as she sat back up and leaned back, placing her hands on his knees, making sure to be below his knees so as not to hurt his right thigh.

Her groans grew louder and deeper within her throat; she didn't care if others heard her. This was just such a moment she didn't want to lose. House's face contorted in ecstasy and he kept saying, "Shhhhh", but not to shut up, but more of a 'shyte.' He was going to come, and he didn't want her to stop riding him until she came, too.

When she finally did come, House bent his legs and held onto her during her orgasm, and he shot his load inside her. She collapsed on top of him as they both fought to catch their breath.

"Okay, we have a date every night during this cruise!" House said and they both laughed.


	26. Chapter 26

_**Found a boo-boo! Sorry, y'all! It's a pain to export and repost without my laptop kicking me off. It's a miracle I'm able to post a chapter w/out it kicking me off. But Wilson put the ring on Debra's LEFT ring finger, not her right. Spank me! ;-)**_

**CHAPTER TWENTY – SIX**

Debra, Wilson, House and Cameron headed for Cuddy's room to take her to breakfast; Chase and Foreman were still passed out in their room because they didn't get back to their room until 3:30. They'd left a note on their door to leave them alone. House was going to bang on it then run but Debra pulled him away before he could.

They stood in line to fill their plates with foods from the breakfast buffet and found a table right by a window that looked out over the ocean. They all took a few bites before Debra couldn't take it any longer and put her purse on the table and took out a long, narrow box.

"Lisa, we all got this for you as a thank you for this wonderful cruise. We hope you like it," Debra said as she handed it to her.

"Oh, my, you didn't have to do this. But thank you," she said as she graciously took the box and opened it.

Debra sat on the edge of her chair holding her breath. Cuddy's mouth dropped when she saw the sapphire and diamond necklace sparkle in the light from the sun shining in.

"It's beautiful. Thank you so much."

"It'll match your dress for the formal dinner tonight," Debra said excitedly.

"Yeah, oh, is _that _why you were pestering me to bring that particular one, Cameron?"

"Of course," she smiled.

During the rest of the meal Debra and Cameron talked about what they'd do that day. They both agreed on going to the napkin animal making demonstration and House said he was going to hang out by the pool with Wilson and they were going to rate the women in their bikinis.

"Yeah, you two have fun!" Debra said as she brought the napkin to her mouth and wiped it clean.

"Debra!? What the heck do you have on your finger?!" Cameron exclaimed as she took Debra's hand and looked at the diamond engagement ring on her left ring finger.

"Oh, that. It's just something Jim gave me," she said playfully. "We're getting married on the island…the first chapel we find!"

She looked at Wilson who bashfully looked down at his plate. Debra nudged his elbow and crooked her head to see his face. He finally looked up with a huge smile on his face.

"No, why can't we get married on the ship?" Wilson offered.

House sat silent in his chair, his face speaking volumes. Cuddy lightly kicked him under the table to say something but he didn't.

"That's a good idea. We can get your wedding ring in the shopping district. Why don't we do it on the trip back?" Debra said.

"Oh, that is just _so_ cool! I'm so happy for you both!"

Wilson couldn't see House from where he was sitting, but he figured he knew what was on his face and what he was thinking. He held his breath and waited for House to say something. Debra herself looked over at her cousin and he didn't seem too pleased.

Quietly and smoothly, House stood up and Debra cringed in her chair. She grabbed Wilson's elbow and stood to leave before he made an idiot out of both of them.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to tell everyone that…"

Wilson stood up beside Debra and they turned to leave, but what House said next made them stop in their tracks.

"…I am going to be the best man and my best friend's wedding to my cousin!"

Debra relaxed and turned to look at House, who was holding up a glass of orange juice and the room erupted in applause. Wilson seemed to blush a bit before they walked back to the table. Debra walked up to House and gave him a hug.

"You never cease to amaze me, you know that?"

"Yeah, well, I have to keep you on your toes, don't I?" he said with a wink before he shook hands with Wilson.

"Come on, Ace, I'm ready to check out the hotties by the pool!" House said as he turned to leave.

"Fine, but I have a location seeking device in his boxers to track him! Keep him out of trouble, Greg!"

The men waited for the ladies in a bar outside the main dining room while they got ready in their rooms. Chase and Foreman were talking about two women they met and were fighting about which one was more better looking, and House and Wilson were talking about the 'hotties' by the pool.

When the three women walked towards the men and they got their first glimpses of them, their mouths dropped to the floor. Cuddy did look stunning in her deep blue dress and sapphire necklace, Debra looked absolutely ravishing in her dress, even though her stomach was protruding out very noticeably but she carried herself very elegantly, and Cameron wore a red dress that made her sparkle.

Wilson walked to Debra and took her hand, brought it to his lips and kissed it like a valiant knight. Foreman and Chase smiled at the women, and as House approached Cameron, he popped two vicodins and smiled at her wickedly, her heart pounding in her chest. He stopped right in front of her, put his arm around her waist, pulled her back so that she was at an uncomfortable angle and kissed her passionately.

"Oh, please! That's enough you two!" Cuddy teased as the rest of the group walked by them to the dining room. They met the group shortly after that.

Dinner that night was probably the best time the whole group had had, ever. Debra was hesitant about having a glass of wine but Cuddy reassured her that one wouldn't hurt the baby. But that didn't stop House from having at least a whole bottle on his own.

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They docked in Freeport, Grand Bahamas early the next morning but didn't head out until after they'd eaten lunch because Debra and Wilson had to check with the captain about a time for the wedding.

The girls hit the shopping district with Wilson, but strictly to find a ring for him, and, of course, for jewelry for the women, too. House, Chase and Foreman headed to the casino and House hit the jackpot with Roulette; he just couldn't lose. After Chase and Foreman lost all their money they went off to the other side of the small island to do some jet skiing.

They met up at dinner then for a show afterwards, but Debra was too tired and Wilson decided to stay with her in the room.

The next day, after they left the Bahamas and were on their way home, with one night left, Debra and Wilson got married in the small chapel on the ship and it was beautiful, even though it was small. Debra chastised her cousin for wearing a tropical shirt with shorts that were past his knees, but she let him slide.

The group arrived back at PPTH and they were all refreshed from their too short four day cruise and exploration on the island. They all settled into their normal routine of work, patients, being cured or mocked by House and his team and all went well for the next month and a half, when Debra went into early labor and her doctor demanded she stay on bed rest for the last month of her pregnancy.

The pregnancy had indeed strained her heart, as well as her kidneys and liver from the pressure of the baby on her organs. The ob/gyn assured Debra and Wilson that the baby was healthy, and Debra wasn't in immediate danger.

But Debra insisted she have a natural delivery, even though the doctor _did_ tell her it would be too risky, for both her and the baby.


	27. Chapter 27

**CHAPTER TWENTY – SEVEN **

Two weeks went by and Debra was in the hospital after having contractions, but she was still three weeks early, which was no problem. Wilson was still trying to convince Debra to have a C-section.

"No, Jim, I can do this!" she said, her voice urgent.

"Debra, you know how dangerous it is," Wilson pleaded with her.

"Yes, I do. I talked with Dr. Truong and I know the risks. I need to do this."

Wilson shook his head because he knew how stubborn she could be; hell, she was just like her cousin. He could only smile to offer any comfort he could to his dying wife and hold her hand.

"Ok, baby. If you think you can do this I'll be here for you, you know that," he whispered, a tear glistening in his eye.

"I'll be fine…it'll be fine. The baby will be fine," she reassured him.

"I know, I know."

She reached her hand to his face and wiped the tear that had fallen from his eye and was trailing down his cheek.

"Hey! Oh my god…he kicked!" she said excitedly.

"Wha'? Where?" he asked.

She pressed down on her swollen stomach then gently took his hand and guided it to her stomach.

"That's his head. I think he thinks it's a wall because he keeps banging his head against it," she said with a laugh.

That's what made Wilson fall in love with Debra in the first place; her strength in adversity and her way of laughing in any situation. He smiled joyfully and they rubbed her stomach for a few seconds until he kicked again.

"There! Did you feel it?!"

If it was possible, his smile spread even wider and his heart burst with joy.

"Yes, yes, I do. Oh, Debra. It's real, he's real," he whispered, barely able to speak.

She nodded her head and wiped away her own tear that had escaped her eye.

Debra pushed her body over and waited impatiently for Wilson to join her in the bed with her.

"Jim, can you promise me something?" she asked as he pressed his body against hers and held her in his arms.

"I know we haven't had time to talk about names, but if it's a boy can we call him Gregory?"

"And what if it is a girl?"

"Then we'll call her Greg-or-i-etta!" she answered very seriously.

His head shot up off the pillow and he glared at her. "No! No way! Absolu…"

Debra started to laugh so hard she had to grab her chest to stop the pain. "I'm joking!"

He sighed in relief. "You can be so mean sometimes," he said then kissed her on her cheek.

"Nah, I'm not mean. Being mean is not telling Greg we're naming it after him. Tell him you have a great uncle Gregory."

"Hun, Gregory is not a Jewish name."

He was about to protest more when he thought deeply about it. Greg had been his best man at his wedding, and they had been friends for almost ten years.

"Okay, fine. But you get to tell him!" Wilson said just as House walked into the room.

"Debra gets to tell me wha…oh, god! NOT in the hospital! It's against…"

"SHUT UP, HOUSE/GREG!" they both shouted at the same time.

The three burst out laughing and when they finally were able to stop House asked them what they really were talking about.

"Nothing, it's a surprise," Debra teased her cousin.

"Surprise…oh, no! Twins?" he asked seriously. "Dr Truong told you your carrying twins?"

Both Wilson and Debra's eye shot open in shock. But the joke was on them.

"Hah, gotcha," he said then again, the three burst out laughing again.

"Actually, I need to borrow your husband for a second," House said.

"Okay, sure, but don't tire him out too much. I hear having sex helps speed along deliv…"

"SHUT UP DEBRA!" both men shouted at the same time as they left her room.

They walked several rooms down the hall until there were in a secluded area.

"Wilson, Dr Truong did tell me a natural delivery more than likely will kill her, and even if she has a C-section it'll put stress on her heart with the drugs."

Wilson shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair then leaned against the wall.

"It doesn't matter. We should never had let it get this far," he muttered, just barely loud enough for House to hear.

"What? You two considered having an abortion?" House asked surprised, causing a few stares from people in the waiting room. Wilson grabbed House by his elbow and led him into the stairwell.

"Yes, she considered having an abortion but I talked her out of it, thankfully. She knew the risks of carrying a baby full term with her heart in the shape it's in. We barely talked for three days."

House leaned against the wall and sighed deeply. "Wilson, I don't want her to die," he said quietly.

"House! I don't want her to die, either! But she wants to do this. We both know she's not going to make it for long after she delivers him. I can't…just can't take this last thing she wants away from her."

Both men sat in silence for several minutes. "Stubborn woman!" House grumbled.

"Hey, she's not a House anymore, she's a Wilson!" he said then laughed, weakly.

"Fine, but she's still stubborn."


	28. Chapter 28

_Hi, everyone! I know I don't always thank everyone for the reviews at every chapter, but I have been on a roll and just sent them over for you to read. _

_Hello to new readers – those new posters. I'm glad everyone likes the story._

_Oh, Limmacia….I hope this chapter covers your concern about House. :o)_

**CHAPTER TWENTY – EIGHT**

After Wilson left House in the stairwell to go back to work, he was determined to convince Debra to have a C-section. He went back into her room and found her sitting in a chair staring out the window.

"Debra, you're not supposed to be up," House fussed as he walked in and leaned against her empty bed.

"Yeah, I know. I just needed to stand and stretch my bones."

"Debra, you're a fool," he said bluntly.

She turned and looked at him, pleased. "Why, thanks. I think I'm more of a moron," she joked. "You know I don't like rules. Isn't that one of your rules, too? It's a House rule, I think."

"If you go through with a natural childbirth more than likely it'll kill you."

"I know that, too. And if I have a C-section I may not survive that with the anesthetic."

House looked at her dumfounded, trying to figure out how to make her change her mind. But he failed in convincing her that the C-section was best and left her to her own thoughts. He went down to Cuddy's office.

"Hey, how's Debra?"

"She's mentally incompetent and I need the papers to sign for her to have a C-section as opposed to a natural childbirth."

"Oh, really? I saw her last night and she seemed…"

"Yeah, well, she's gone downhill," House lied. "She doesn't know what she's saying."

Cuddy sat back in her chair and scrutinized House but remained silent. When she chose her words carefully she said, "Sound familiar to you?"

House frowned trying to think of what she meant when it finally came to him: Stacy being House's proxy and the decision she had to make regarding repairing House's infarction.

"This is different."

"How so?"

"Because…because, it just is."

Cuddy shook her head and said, "House, I know what you're going through. I've been there once before and now the shoes are on the other foot, aren't they? I know the risks as well, and to be honest I'm with you on her having the C-section; it's less risky. But it's not your call; it's Wilson's."

"Do you think he'd go for it?" House asked.

Just then the door opened and Wilson barged in, saying, "I want to claim Debra as being mentally incompetent…"

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"No! You can't do that! I'm thinking clearly and I _don't_ want a C-Section!" Debra stood her ground.

While House was in Cuddy's office talking with Wilson, the nurse put her on a heart monitor to detect any abnormalities in her heart rate, and now they were rising and falling fast, too fast.

"Do you _want_ to kill yourself?! Because that's what'd you be doing!" House spat with anger in his voice that he'd never used with Debra before. "You have a better chance of surviving, as well as the baby, with the C-section."

Debra looked at Wilson pleading for him to help her.

"House, can we have a second alone?" Wilson asked nicely.

House was at first upset then did leave the room but stood just outside the door. Wilson sat on the bed beside Debra and put her hands in his, squeezing it tightly.

"Deb, you once asked me if it came to it, would I sacrifice you or the baby for the other to live. I'd choose you. I'd choose you if the same situation came up a million times!" Tears filled Debra's eyes as Wilson continued to talk to her. "But you've got to listen to us. We're not doing this to control your life; we're doing this to _save _your life, _and_ our baby."

Tears finally sprang from her eyes and she looked away from him. Wilson grabbed her all pulled her up as far as her stomach would allow and held her tight.

"I love you, Debra. I don't want to lose you," Wilson said softly, tears coming to his own eyes.

They cried for several minutes; the stress they'd both been under the past few months had been tough on both of them and finally caught up with them. When they got control over themselves and separated Debra sniff-hiccuped and wiped her face.

"Do I have to be put under? It's not that I don't want the C-section but I want to be awake."

Wilson laughed lightly at her thoughts. "Deb, is that why you…oh, baby," he said, grabbing her once again and holding her. "No, you'll be awake."

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"Okay, Debra, we have your vitals and we'll be watching them closely. How are you feeling?" the anesthesiologist asked as her mouth guard rose indicating she'd smiled.

Three days passed since Debra gave her consent for the surgery, and she'd gone into premature labor, meaning they had to take the baby out immediately. She was in the operating room getting prepped by the nurses fro the surgery.

"I'm okay…when's Jim gonna get…hmmmm…here?" she asked, a labor pain overtaking her.

"I think the nurses are almost done prepping you so we can call them in now. You just relax. If you feel the slightest bit strange I want you to tell me, okay?"

Debra nodded her head and relaxed a little, closing her eyes as the nurses finished up prepping stomach for the surgery, breathing slowing in and out as the labor pain increased then subsided.

"_She's having his baaaaybeee! What a wonderful way to say how much he loves her!!"_ House sang as he came into the room a few minutes later following behind Wilson.

"House, will you _STOP_ singing that! You've been going at it for the past hour and you're really starting to get on my last nerve." Wilson said then laughed as he walked to Debra, where her view was blocked from the surgery with a small curtain and bent down and kissed her.

House leaned against the wall, out of the way of the doctor and nurses but still had a clear view of everything that was going on.

"Okay, Debra, Dr. Wilson, are you two ready to become parents?" Dr. Truong asked.

Debra and Wilson smiled at each other and Debra nodded her head. Wilson looked up and nodded his head to the doctor to begin. The doctor made the long, horizontal incision across her stomach and continued working on delivering their baby.

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"What is it?! What it is?! How is it, what is it?" Debra asked urgently as Dr. Truong said the baby was out and they were just clearing its nose and throat of the amniotic fluid. Wilson was with her the whole time, holding her hand and giving her his support. They both smiled, cried and kissed the other when they heard the baby cry out with strong lungs. House slightly moved the top of the mask he wore to wipe the tear that had fallen out and used it to dry it. H_eaven forbid Debra and Wilson see me cry._

But it was too late; Debra had turned to look at him and saw him wipe the tear and saw his tear-soaked eyes. She smiled at him sweetly and he winked back at her.

Dr. Truong held the baby and was about to lift it over the curtain to show her when the anesthesiologist cried out that her blood pressure was falling and she needed to get it back up. Dr. Truong quickly handed the baby to a nurse and stepped back so the nurse could further ascertain her condition. House took a step forward to the table but then stopped.

"Jimmmm, wha' izzz…" Debra closed her eyes and rapidly fell unconscious.

"I can't…control the bleeding!" another doctor cried out as the team started to work on her.

House walked up to Wilson and gently grabbed his shoulders, trying to pull him away. Wilson shrugged his hand away and started to whisper to her.

"Wilson, come on. Let them do their job."

"No…no! I have to stay…"

"We're not leaving but you need to give them room," House insisted.

Wilson finally looked at House, with tear-soaked eyes, and stepped back with House and stood against the wall watching the team try to get Debra's vitals regulated.


	29. Chapter 29

**CHAPTER TWENTY – NINE**

Debra slowly came out of the anesthetic from giving birth to her child and tried to call out to Wilson. But she was still extremely weak from the loss of blood and her heart had become severely compromised. It took her three times to say his name before it was anywhere near audible. She moved her left hand and felt a head full of hair and ran her fingers through it, calling his name.

"Deb…Debra, hi baby," he said as he raised his head and held her hand.

"Hey," she whispered. "Howzzz th' bb-ee? Where' baby? Wha' i't?" she asked but had to stop and catch her breath from the strain.

"Gregory James is fine, sweetie. He's beautiful, small, but beautiful. You did a good job." He smiled as best as he could but felt it wasn't good enough to pull it off.

She returned his smile and relaxed a bit, resting her head into the pillow.

"Has Greg seen his Godchild?" she asked, her voice becoming stronger. They hadn't talked about having one for the baby, but he couldn't deny that to her.

"Yes, he was there for the whole delivery."

She closed her eyes and nodded her head, never losing her smile.

"Jim, I love you," she whispered and dozed off.

He stared at her a moment and told her, "I love you, too, Debra Wilson."

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Later that afternoon, Debra was lying in bed and had finally felt the stress on her body the surgery had put on her and she hated to admit it to herself, but she knew she was dying. She had asked Wilson earlier that day but he told her she wasn't. She knew he was lying. She hated to be lied to, but she knew he wasn't doing it to be callous. He was only trying to protect her, like she'd been protected all her life. And she loved him for it.

"Hey, mom! How's it going?!" House shouted as he walked into her room.

"Hi," she said; her voice dry and emotionless.

"Are you feeling okay? You don't have to be hurting, you know," he said as he grabbed a chair and sat next to her.

"I know."

"I saw Gregory just a second ago. I think I saw him pull himself up the bassinette and wave at me," House said with a forced smile.

He was expecting a laugh from her, as she always had at his stupid attempts to make her laugh, but she didn't.

"Greg, how much longer do I have?" she finally asked what was on her mind.

"What do you mean, 'how much longer?'" But he knew she knew. He just didn't have the heart to tell her. "Oh, I'd say another sixty years."

She finally turned and looked at him for the first time since he walked in.

"I want to know how long my heart is going to hold out."

It was inevitable; the one thing he hated about his job, well, not the one thing, but the worst.

"Dr Truong consulted your neurosurgeon and it could be weeks, a month at the most."

She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Does Jim know?"

"Yes."

"Okay, thanks. When can I see…"

"Hey, baby!" Wilson shouted when he walked in the room.

"Hi, snook-ums!" House answered.

Wilson laughed and it brought a smile to Debra's face.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as walked to the other side of the bed and gave her a kiss.

"Okay."

"I've got a present for you," he said just as a nurse came in holding something wrapped in her arms.

"Is tha…Gregory?!" she asked, her eyes flew open and she stretched out her arms for her son.

"Yes," Wilson answered. "Wait a minute," he continued as he pushed the button to raise the head part of the bed. House grabbed an extra pillow and put it under her arm. Wilson finally nodded at the nurse, who approached them and laid Gregory in her arms.

"Oh, my…god. He is beautiful, isn't he?" she gasped, feeling every finger and loosening the cloth to check out his toes.

Wilson leaned in and put his right arm over her head and put his head near her shoulder. "He takes after his mommy."

"Uh, I think I'm going to leave…" House started to say.

"No, stay, Greg. You are just as much a part of this are we are," Debra said, giving her attention back to her son. "And no, daddy, he takes after you," she said.

She looked lovingly at Wilson and gave him a kiss. For the first time, House never looked away, gave a disgusted look or made a nasty comment about them being in love. With his cousin and best friend holding their first child for the both of them, he was happy for them.

Debra whispered something into his ear and he nodded his head. She turned and looked at House. "Greg, Jim and I want you to be Gregory's godfather."

The expression on his face was priceless and he was so gratefully honored. But, of course, House being House, he had to bust their chops.

"Uh, you know I'm not a very religious and I killed Steve and…" he started to say.

"How can you say that? After all that's happened between each of us the past year?!" she shot back, meeting his playful banter.

"But I might raise the antichrist," he said, trying to hold back a smile.

"No, House, you're the antichrist," Wilson joined in.

And the three friends laughed, sadly, for the last time, as a group.

"I would be happy, privileged beyond belief and truly honored to be Gregory's godfather."

Early the next morning, Debra's condition was slowly deteriorating. Both Wilson and House knew she was near death and while Wilson was in with her House brought her crying baby to her, insisting he wouldn't stop until she held him. In reality, when he was in the hall, he woke the sleeping child by pinching his toes until he did start to cry.

She held Gregory in her arms and spoke softly to him, and within minutes he had fallen asleep again.

"Gregory, I'm going to miss you, baby. Mommy…I'll be watching over you. Be good to your daddy…" Her voice started to choke and words were beginning to come hard to her. "And keep your cousin Greg in line," she said with a sniffle.

The heart monitor started to beep irregularly, but House turned to shut it off. He had to fight back tears himself, and Wilson didn't even bother trying. Tears streamed down his cheeks and didn't wipe them clear. Debra turned to look at him when she heard him sniffle. With her left hand she reached up and with the back of her forefinger wiped his cheek.

"Don't, James," she said, which only caused thicker tears to drop because she only called him 'James' once, the day of their wedding. "You'll be a great…" She took in a deep, labored breath. "…daddy."

"God, Debra, I love you so much. I did from the moment I saw you," he said, his voice shaky.

"I didn't fall in love with you until you made love to me," she teased then smiled. "I love you, too, baby."

House felt something wet on his cheek, but he didn't dare wipe it for fear Wilson would see him crying. It never dawned on him that this was a very acceptable and appropriate time to cry.

She turned back to House and said to Gregory, "I will always love…you."

She kissed his cheek and handed the baby to House, barely having the strength to hold him up. He took the infant and took him into the hall, laying him in the waiting basinette. He stood against the wall and held his breath. He couldn't take this. He didn't want to lose her. He had grown to love and respect her, one of few people in his life he ever did. He finally wiped his tears and was about to head down the hall when he heard Wilson calling his name.

He rushed back in thinking she had just died but he relaxed a bit when he saw her still with her eyes open and a smile on her face.

"She wants you here with us," Wilson said, losing his voice completely and broke into tears.

Reluctantly House walked to the bed and held her hand.

"Gre…Greg…be good to Allison, will ya?" she said, squeezed his hand and winked. "Give Gregory a cousin to play with, ok?"

House smiled, leaned in and whispered something in her ear and her face beamed, for the first time since they'd come in.

"Way to go," she said, her voice becoming weaker. "Congrat…"

"Shhh, it's a secret," House whispered then looked at Wilson and shook his head.

She turned and looked at her husband, the one man that she truly fell in love with.

"I'll miss you," she whispered, her eyes becoming cloudy and seemingly difficult for her to focus.

"I'll miss you, too, baby, but…I know you'll always be there with us."

Wilson leaned in and gave Debra a kiss, long, sweet, soft; just the way she liked them. A tear fell onto her cheek from Wilson's eye and when he broke from their kiss he went to wipe it off but she told him not to.

"No, I want that…oh…" she moaned as her chest rose and collapse, becoming erratic.

Wilson held her hand harder with both hands and looked into her face lovingly. House felt so out of place, like he didn't belong there with them. He tried to pull away from her grip but she held onto him tightly.

"Greg, I love you, too. Behave yourself or I'm coming back to haunt you."

Wilson broke into tears again and she opened her eyes, a single tear fell from her eye onto the pillow. She broke her hold of House's hand and slowly set it on Wilson's head.

"I'm ready," she whispered.

He looked at her and frowned then realized what she meant.

"No, no, no, no…" Wilson cried over and over.

"I…love…you…" She turned her head and looked at the ceiling, her face becoming soft and almost angelic.

"No, no…STAY WITH ME!" Wilson cried.

"It…dozn't…hurt…" she muttered.

"Oh, Debra, I love you, too," House said at last, and just in time.

Her face softened even further and her eyes lit up, looking at the ceiling as if there were someone there talking to her. She nodded her head, slowly closed her eyes and took her last breath.

"No…Debra…oh," Wilson wailed.

House's heart broke at that moment. He walked out the room as fast as his legs could carry him and headed for the nearest bathroom. With his cane he pounded each door to each stall, and when he found them empty he returned to the door and locked it.

He walked back to a sink, stepped back a few steps, and threw his cane into the mirror above the sink, cracking two of them. He collapsed on the floor and balled like a baby. He hadn't cried so hard since he was a kid and it was the first time his Dad had gotten really hard on him. His chest grew tight and every muscle in his body tightened, tears just streaming down his face. He cried for a good ten minutes, burying his hands in his face and rocking himself back and forth.

Keys rattled in the door and a woman rushed in, fell to her knees beside House, and held him in her arms. He didn't resist. He knew the scent, the feel of her arms, carrying a strength he never had himself.

"Caa…Cam…she'ssss…gone," he cried.

"I know, I know, baby," she said softly and began to rock him gently……..

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_Okay, this story WILL be continued because House still hasn't dealt with his daddy issues. And I think I'll switch up the last one with medical cases and stuff; I already have stuff to use. :o) But I'll make the story short…like 15 chapters, I guess._

_I think I'll name the last of the Trilogy "And Another Door Opens", if I can't think of a better name by then, which I hope to God I can! lol_

_So, check back in a week or two for the continuation._

_Thanks for all the reviews and I'm glad everyone liked it…I had a good time writing it, as well. :o)_


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